Interrogation
by Surreptitious Chi X
Summary: Every interrogation is different. Sometimes, it's easier to break people with compassion rather than cruelty. Baki is going to find out how true that is. Baki's murder of Hayate puts him on Ibiki's radar. To his surprise, that might not be a bad thing.
1. Chapter 1

**Interrogation**

* * *

Baki had always wondered what the inside of a Konoha interrogation room looked like. Now he knew: Boring. Cinderblock walls painted over in gray paint. A single chair – that he was tied to – and a single light from above, illuminating that chair. The chair was bolted to the floor. Other than that, there was a solid metal door between him and the way out of this room, and he suspected he'd find a maze of hallways. Filled with guards, naturally.

He wondered if Kabuto Yakushi had betrayed him, but considered it unlikely. It would hardly further the invasion of Konoha.

It was far more likely he had been observed by someone with masked chakra and turned in. That would explain his sudden collapse on the street, and why he'd woken up here with a bag over his head.

The man who'd taken the bag off of his head was none other than the big, broad-shouldered Chief of Interrogation himself: Ibiki Morino. The scarred man was unmistakable. And he certainly was imposing in his official slate blue uniform and black leather coat, he'd give Morino that.

Baki grinned. "That is one badass coat."

Ibiki inclined his head graciously. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Baki waited.

"Well, it's like this." Ibiki scratched his chin. "We're really after Kabuto. After all, he's one of ours, and it's a personal insult to be betrayed. You understand that."

Baki nodded.

"So if you tell us where Kabuto is or how to get in touch with him…" Ibiki raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Mmn." Baki pretended to consider it. "Or, perhaps I can even call him myself and betray him to you. Make him walk into a trap."

"That kind of thing," Ibiki agreed pleasantly.

"I thought that might be what you had in mind," Baki said.

"So we're agreed?" Ibiki asked.

"Sure." Baki smiled. "But I'm not going to do any of those things."

"Why not?" Ibiki asked, still pleasant.

Baki shrugged. "Maybe my attitude has something to do with the fact that you've asked me to betray my country."

"Oh, that." Ibiki stroked his chin, looking at the ceiling. "Hmm. Well, you could become a Leaf nin."

Baki snorted. "You're not serious."

"I'm not?" Ibiki looked at him quizzically. "Why not?"

"Because then you're talking about betrayal and desertion." Baki grinned. "That'd make it worse. I hardly think that piling offenses on top of my head is going to make me talk to you any quicker."

"What would make you talk?"

They looked at each other for a moment.

Then they both laughed.

"Have it your way," Ibiki said.

"Thank you," Baki said politely. He wondered what would happen next. _Would he jump straight to the torture? Or would a man like this go in for psychological manipulation? Drugs, maybe? _

Ibiki inclined his head. "Of course. You are my guest."

"For how long am I going to be staying?" Baki asked.

Ibiki said with a hint of a smile, "I don't know. Until you talk, probably."

"If I talk, you'll probably get rid of me by killing me and dumping the body," Baki said lightly.

Ibiki looked slightly injured. "That all depends." He gestured with one hand. He was wearing gloves. "Your fate depends on how quickly you talk, and about what, and whether or not you're helpful."

"Helpful?"

"Cooperative," Ibiki said. "Cooperative people live."

"In a dungeon," Baki said.

"Perhaps," Ibiki said. "Or perhaps we'll send you back to your country."

Baki grimaced. "Oh, that. Extradition would hardly be courteous after making me talk."

Ibiki grinned. "Oops. I hadn't thought of that."

"Sure you haven't." Baki gave him a look. "I need to know what inducements I'm working with. How can I trust that something terrible won't happen to me the moment I talk? I've got kids to look after."

"You're not married," Ibiki said flatly. His expression turned stony.

"They're not mine," Baki said. He was somewhat frightened by the reaction to what Ibiki perceived as a lie, but he didn't show it. He kept his expression mild and his chakra tightly controlled. "I mean the Kazekage's kids. I call them my kids. My team."

Ibiki relaxed slightly. The stiffness went out of his shoulders. "You'll be replaced, I imagine."

Baki wondered if Ibiki could know how much that comment stung. "I don't want to be replaced." He swallowed. "I…I've bonded already. I care already."

Ibiki furrowed his brow. "Look: Do they know you're working with Sound already? How much do these kids know?"

"Nothing," Baki said quickly. "Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara don't know anything. Yondaime was going to tell them when they returned from the first part of the Chunin Exam. Which I know they won't do if I'm missing. So they don't know. They know nothing about the invasion."

"Invasion?" Ibiki murmured.

Baki knew then that he'd slipped up. _Of course. Getting me to talk about the kids._ He closed his eyes for a moment. _He found a way in. And I was easy. Stupid, Baki. Stupid._ He forced himself to open his eyes, to avoid a show of sustained weakness.

"As we suspected," Ibiki said softly. "An invasion, of the Sound and Sand."

Baki nodded once.

"On whose orders?" Ibiki asked.

"Yondaime's," Baki said wearily.

"I know that." Ibiki gave him a wry smile. "But what I want to know is, who is behind Kabuto? Orochimaru?"

"I can't help you," Baki said.

"Dangerous words," Ibiki teased.

Baki tensed in spite of himself.

"The kids are still genin, aren't they?" Ibiki asked.

Baki stared at him.

Ibiki looked at him innocently.

"That's why they're here," Baki said at last. The easy banter they'd initially had was gone, and nothing could bring it back. He didn't know why Ibiki was trying.

"So…they're not much of a threat, and they're not involved," Ibiki summed up.

Baki relaxed, all the way. "Yes. Exactly."

Ibiki looked at him sympathetically. "I don't know how you do things in Suna. But around here, we don't involve people in sessions like the one we're having without them being involved in something. You say the kids are clean and I believe that."

Baki bowed his head. "Thank you." _Thank god for Konoha being soft. God, I don't want them to be hard. Ever. Let the Leaf stay as naïve and as merciful as possible. _

"Just keep telling me the truth," Ibiki said. "It can be that easy."

"I can't," Baki said, knowing he was fighting a downhill battle.

"Yes, you can," Ibiki said gently. "You're good at telling the truth. I can tell."

Baki's eyes burned because that really was the truth about him, he was a terrible liar and an honest person and – _Oh god. He got to me. Again. How did he do that? _"Yondaime's my teacher. He's my teacher. He's my teacher from the Academy. So don't ask me to betray him." _Yes,_ he told himself. _Good. Remember that._

"I know," Ibiki said in that same gentle voice. It was like needles slipping insidiously under Baki's skin.

Baki shut his eyes and plowed on desperately. "My parents died and he was there and –"

"I know. I know all of that."

Baki felt a touch on his chin and he opened his eyes. Ibiki stood over him, cupping his chin with a patient gaze. Looking into his eyes.

"I can't," Baki protested.

"What if I told you that's not your teacher?" Ibiki asked.

Baki went numb. "I'd say you're lying."

Ibiki spoke slowly and carefully. "We've received intelligence that the Kazekage has been replaced by an agent of Orochimaru's. When we see him in the second part of the Chunin Exam, we expect to find that he is someone else, wearing the Kazekage's face."

"No." That was the only word Baki could come up with to stop all this.

"There was a fight." If only Ibiki didn't look so sympathetic.

"No."

"Your teacher is dead," Ibiki said. "The one who ordered the alliance with Sound is a member of Sound. Sound was founded by Orochimaru."

"No," Baki protested. "No, no, no." He needed this to stop. He needed it to stop because he believed Ibiki. _I had a wrong feeling when I left –_ "No!"

"Take a moment," Ibiki said softly. "Please."

Baki tried desperately not to cry. _Sensei…No. No. _"You're just trying to get to me."

"I could do that any old way," Ibiki said. "I need your cooperation. I want you to turn to our side, Baki. The right side. Your treaty with us takes precedence over the orders of a stranger. That man usurped the name and title of your sensei unjustly. You can't listen to anything he says. You know a lot about the truth, Baki. Am I telling the truth?"

Baki stared at Ibiki. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't. _Psychological manipulation. It's psychological manipulation!_

"You can read people," Ibiki said. "Am I telling the truth? I have, haven't I?"

"My sensei –"

" –is gone," Ibiki finished. "I'm sorry." He stroked Baki's cheek. "I'm sorry, Baki. I wish I could undo what Orochimaru did. Help me catch him. Help me so that our nations don't go to war with one another. We have a good treaty. We have a bond of trust. Don't betray us. Please. Think of the children you care about. If they go back to Suna, if they participate in starting a war under the direction of a stranger, their lives will be ruined. If they find out from someone other than you that their father isn't alive anymore…"

Baki looked away. He could imagine the devastation. "Don't. Don't talk about it anymore."

"I have to," Ibiki said. "I'm sorry, but we have to talk more. Time is ticking down, Baki. Orochimaru is going to try to invade with or without you. But he is counting on the Sand to make his move for him. You're his public face for conquest, unless you say otherwise and back out of the deal now. We need to know where Kabuto Yakushi is to put this all to a halt."

Baki swallowed and looked into Ibiki's eyes. Could the man know just how much Baki hurt at this precise moment?

"More people will get hurt if we don't act quickly," Ibiki said. "More people than you, or me. Entire villages, entire countries may be at stake. This thing could escalate. For all we know that's what Orochimaru wants." He cupped Baki's face in both hands. "You can stop this, Baki. You can stop this right now by saying how you get a hold of Kabuto Yakushi. By giving us the right code to signal him by, by being the one to lead us to him, you can do your country and ours a great service. Don't break the treaty. Remember the treaty, Baki. You owe us an allegiance of friendship. Don't throw it all away."

Baki couldn't tell what was right and what was wrong anymore. He knew the line had blurred. His orders? The treaty? His team, the country, Orochimaru? He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think.

But Ibiki's hands stroked his face gently, offering all the sympathy in the world – and it was true that his old sensei hadn't been acting like himself. Not at all. He'd been cold, distant…strange…

_Oh, no. Oh, god, no._ Denial tried to kick in again, but it was a losing struggle against Baki's nauseating certainty that nothing would ever be the same again.

"Baki, you'll be a hero," Ibiki said softly.

Baki's heart skipped a beat. _No – I'm not – Don't speak!_

"You don't really want to break the treaty, do you? Neither does the Wind Daimyo. What about him? He's the leader of your country, Baki. Even if your sensei were alive, which he is not, how could he go against the Daimyo? Would your sensei ever do that?"

The logic hit like an earth release to the stomach. Baki gritted his teeth, his breath suddenly hissing. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, and then opened them. He was shaking. "No." Tears blurred his vision. He looked away, refusing to look at this person who was dealing him so much pain. "He wouldn't. He would never do that. He respected the chain of command." Respected. Past tense. He swallowed, bile in his throat.

Ibiki reached around him and untied his hands, freeing him from the chair.

Baki almost came undone.

Ibiki took his arms and helped him up.

Baki tried to pull away, stumbling back against the chair.

Ibiki pulled him forward to keep him from falling and wrapped him up in a tight hug.

Baki burst out with a sob and started crying.

Ibiki rubbed his back. "We're not your enemy. Orochimaru is. Help us find him; catch him; keep him from destroying our villages. We're safe now. As long as you understand who your allies are, you're safe."

"Sensei…"

"He's dead. I'm sorry."

Baki's chest constricted with pain.

"But you're not alone. And he would have wanted you to preserve the treaty. He guarded peace with his life. Did he not negotiate the original peace treaty with Minato Namikaze? Did he not fight for peace all his life?"

Baki fell limp in Ibiki's arms, burying his face against Ibiki's shoulder.

Ibiki held him and let him cry himself out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Ibiki waited for Baki to calm down before broaching the subject of what they were going to do. "Hey...now that you know which side you're on, I'm going to need you to sign a confession. It would help if you were willing to write it out, too. It's not gonna be used against you or anything; it's just a matter of records. I'll explain the situation to Sandaime, and I would be surprised if he didn't grant you a pardon."

Baki wasn't so sure he was that safe, but then again, this really was a matter of stopping Orochimaru from destroying their villages. And if he helped Sandaime Hokage against Orochimaru, then surely he was worth something. Besides, he had to protect his kids.

He still watched Ibiki carefully for several moments before speaking. He was suspicious, but mostly he was dull with pain. _My sensei . . . gone._ That was 24 years. 24 years of student-teacher relationship, of friendship. He hadn't gotten the assignment of being the Kazekage's children's sensei from nowhere.

Ibiki gauged the hesitation. "Your cooperation is going to mean everything to him. He is not going to care what you have done up to this point; only that you have stopped and repented by choosing to help us. Sandaime rules by love, not by fear. And he's the stronger man for it. Orochimaru is the one who tries to rule others by fear. And if you look at yourself, you know it's true. You're afraid right now."

Baki sighed. Stared down at the floor, still lost in dull pain. Made his decision. "Very well. I'll sign a confession."

Ibiki nodded. "I'll try to make it painless for you." He squeezed Baki's arm gently and walked across the room, opened the door. "Follow me."

Baki did as bidden, crossing the floor and following Ibiki out of the room. _Konoha's T&I unit is strange. Kill them with kindness, ne? _A complete stranger had held him while he cried. He didn't want to cry it out in front of anyone, especially another man, and most especially an interrogator. And yet there he'd been, held tightly by an interrogator. _My sensei's dead, I'm being comforted by an interrogator. My world makes no sense. It's like I'm walking slanted._

Not to mention Orochimaru had replaced his sensei with someone else who was _wearing_ his face.

No, his world did not make sense.

The hallway was gray and narrow, lit by lights installed in round fixtures overhead. The hallway appeared to be featureless, with no other doors. They reached a 'T' intersection, and Ibiki turned left. "This way," he remarked to Baki over his shoulder. "The other way is deeper into the holding cell area." They reached a secretary station ahead.

There was a desk with a window affixed to the front of it, kind of a glass sheet that created a see-through cubicle. The desk was accessed by a door behind the secretary. She looked up at Ibiki's arrival.

"One confession form, please," Ibiki said politely.

The secretary pulled out a desk drawer and slid a blank form through a slot in the window. "Here."

"Thank you," Ibiki said. "And a pen?"

She smiled and handed him a pen through the divider.

Ibiki bowed. "One moment. I'll return it when I'm finished."

"Of course, Ibiki-san."

Ibiki gestured to Baki, nodding his head at the door across the hall to the right. "This way. These are our conference rooms. They're quiet."

Baki nodded, following him silently.

Ibiki opened the door - a more cheerful light maple color, not the dull gray of the interrogation cell - and revealed a clean white room with a long, rectangular desk in the middle. There were two plastic chairs on either side. The room had short gray carpet, and nothing was bolted down.

Ibiki gestured for Baki to enter first.

Baki did as asked, heading to a plastic chair and sitting down.

Ibiki came in and shut the door behind them. He walked to the chair across from Baki, slid it out, and sat down in it. "I'm sitting across from you because this is where I have to be legally," he said quietly. He put the confession form on the table and slid it over to Baki. "Please read this over. It has your rights at the top." He tapped the bold black writing with the pen he'd borrowed.

"This is as far as witnesses get into the T&I building," Ibiki explained. "You've just been bumped up to witness status."

Baki took in that information carefully. "Witness? I see." He scanned over the rights section; it had rights similar to Suna's, including the right to legal representation, the right to a fair trial, and the right to extradition to one's own country if applicable.

"In particular, I want you to note that you have the right to be protected against any co-conspirators, against any harm whatsoever," Ibiki said. "I take that right seriously. So that means you and the 'kids' are going to be taken someplace safe to ride this thing out. Even if you choose to lead me to Kabuto yourself, we're going to have the area swarming with ANBU agents. You won't be sent in alone, Baki."

Baki glanced at Ibiki. "I have to wait for Kabuto to contact me," he explained. "Even as the liaison, I don't have the power to summon Kabuto to my side at will. Although once he does contact me, I could lead you to him." He paused, taking in the fact the kids and he would be taken somewhere safe. "The safety of the kids is my chief concern. I'll be holding you to your promise."

Ibiki gave Baki a blank expression. "It's not a promise. It's the law."

Baki smiled half a smile. _Only in Konoha could I expect such solicitude_. In Iwa or Kumo, and especially Kiri, one would be flattened. Although Suna was a democracy and ally of Konoha; as such, they had both similar rights and a witness protection program. "But of course. This is Konoha."

Ibiki inclined his head, allowing a slight smile to surface. "I like to think so."

Baki held out his hand for the pen.

Ibiki gave it to him. "Please recount everything from the beginning, Baki. I can't give you many more directions than that, or I would be crossing the line according to the law that I can't 'coerce' a statement or a confession."

Baki sighed. "Indeed. This may take awhile." He paused, going back in his mind to the first time his sensei had started acting just a bit strangely. Then he began writing, marking the date of the first odd order from Yondaime Kazekage, the first contact from Kabuto, the setting up of the invasion with Orochimaru, and finally the murder of Hayate.

It took him an hour and four pages.

Ibiki fetched the extra paper willingly. He was fascinated to see the man write. Handwriting told so much about an individual. Some people said that graphology was crap; he happened to believe there was an edge of psychology in it, as long as you didn't start making crystal ball predictions.

For instance, Baki was honest, a straight arrow and a deeply moral person. It showed in the clean, straight lines of his handwriting. He was also an excellent leader, and had a calm disposition. Ibiki didn't miss the way that Baki wrote slowly and carefully in some sections - that showed recollection and sadness.

When Baki was finally done, Ibiki collected the pages and stacked them neatly. "I'll take this to the secretary. Wait here." He took the pen and the paper back, allowing the secretary to do her job from there. He talked with her a moment, and got a couple orders issued in writing. He brought them back to Baki, not bothering to sit down. "These say you're allowed to come with me past the barrier."

He paused, realizing not everyone could know the inside of the T&I building like him. "That means you can leave this floor and come up - where the regular people are."

Ibiki added, "It also means you can leave the building. I imagine you'll want to come with me when we move Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara to a safe location."

The pass out of the interrogation floor was purple, and the pass that allowed Baki out of the building was green.

Baki stood. "I certainly would." He had to be there-not just for his own sanity but also because his kids were unlikely to take well to others randomly shuffling them away. Especially Gaara.

Ibiki smiled, gave Baki a small bow, and gestured. "Then, shall we?"

Baki inclined his head in return and followed Ibiki upstairs and then outside. Baki's passes were checked and verified at the door at the top of the stairs and the front door.

On the way, Ibiki picked up a team to act as bodyguards. "Okay, to the hotel, people. You know where that is."

He received a round of nods. Then he turned to Baki. "Would you like the honor of explaining to your children what is going on? If you like, I can remain silent." He jerked his chin at the team. "So can they."

"I'm not sure 'honor' is a good word for it," Baki said quietly, "given I have to tell them their father is dead."

"It's not my place to say it, but I don't think it's wise to tell them everything at once," Ibiki said evenly. "The youngest is twelve, isn't he? I was the exam proctor for the written test. A twelve-year-old is not going to be able to handle and adjust to all of the new information you've learned. And Gaara is also the least able to cope with things because he's already coping with a bijuu."

Baki considered the fact they knew nothing at all and merely nodded. "Fair enough. The worst of the information can wait. I'll only give them half the story."

Although he was going to have to think fast to figure out how to put a story together that made sense.

Ibiki nodded. "If I may, it seems best to tell them that a criminal known to the Leaf has infiltrated the village, and they are being moved for their safety, due to the sensitive nature of their lineage."

Baki was relieved for the suggestion. "That will work. Thank you, Morino-san."

Ibiki bowed. "You're under a lot of stress right now. Not the best conditions for having to think of a viable, yet truthful, cover story."

"That's an understatement," Baki muttered, having to agree.

They went to the hotel.

Kankuro, Gaara, and Temari were where they were supposed to be. In fact, they had been worried about their sensei. Ibiki found it touching how they asked first if Baki was okay, and only then asked to know where Baki had been. Ibiki had the team wait out in the hall, but he'd come just inside the door of the room. At the point that they started questioning where their sensei had been, Ibiki spoke up. "He's been helping me. Due to the nature of some of the events last night, he was a witness to something clandestine. As a matter of fact, that's why you're going to be moved to a safe place." He let Baki take it from there.

Baki did admirably well; Ibiki thought he must have been the only one that picked up on how seriously taxed Baki was by their questions.

Although, he expected Kankuro to be sharp. The boy was a puppet master, and had already shown he used puppets to impersonate people.

Once the conversation was done and the kids were convinced to move, they packed up their stuff and followed their teacher out into the hallway, where the team waited.

"We're teleporting from here," Ibiki said. "Not so that you don't know the route, but so that no one else will. We'll explain where you are when we get there."

The four men took up stations around the group, Ibiki included, and did a mass teleport jutsu.

They appeared in a well furnished, but windowless, apartment.

Baki's stomach did a bit of a flop as they solidified again. Mass teleportation jutsu had never been high on his list of likes.

"This apartment will be furnished with everything you need by ANBU," Ibiki said. "Don't let the lack of windows fool you. We're not underground; nothing so cliché. In fact, we're two stories up, above a local restaurant. It's one of the many safe places we keep witnesses and other protected people around the village."

Ibiki gestured. "As you can see, there's a fully outfitted kitchen, so you can cook if you like. Otherwise, order takeout every day. I don't care. How you use this facility is up to you. And when the threat's over, we'll come get you. In the meantime, use this." He gave a small silver whistle to each of the children. "This whistle will summon ANBU. It's silent, like a dog whistle. Using it merely activates the jutsu. No noise is produced."

Baki was impressed with the thoroughness despite having expected it. He felt as though they would be safe there. Then again, Baki would protect "his" children with his life. It wasn't just ANBU agents to the rescue.

Ibiki glanced at Baki. "As for your sensei, he's going to be staying somewhere else. This safehouse doesn't have enough security for someone who's witnessed something pertaining to an S-Class criminal. You're safe here only because you know nothing of what your sensei has seen. So don't ask him; not until this is all over and it's safe for you to know. Your sensei will be able to visit you. I'll see to that. But he can't stay here."

He'd left that part off on purpose, not wanting to upset Baki before he absolutely had to. And there was no way Baki would have been able to pull off looking calm in front of the kids if he'd had time to think about separation. In the interrogation, Ibiki had already read separation anxiety into Baki's relationship with these children.

Baki was immediately horrified. "No, these are my kids." Oops. "My team," he corrected. Then he realized with his sensei dead, he intended to look after them as his own children. He'd adopt them if they'd allow it. "I have to stay and protect my kids."

Ibiki allowed his sympathy to show through on his face and squeezed Baki's shoulder. "As I said, you'll be allowed to visit. If you like, I can use a jutsu to turn an ordinary object into an object that will summon you. For them to use if they feel in danger."

He didn't think the children would be in any danger. But it wouldn't hurt to allow Baki the comfort of being able to play father. It was all over the man's face.

Baki calmed down a bit at this offer and looked at the kids. Temari and Kankuro both looked concerned; Gaara was impassive as always.

Temari offered Baki a shadow of her usual spunky smile. "We can handle ourselves, Baki. We're not little kids. We're...slightly kind of grown up kids. If we weren't, Dad wouldn't have sent us to the Chunin Exam. Come on, we already let everyone try to kill us in the Forest of Death. If we got through that, we'll be safe in an apartment with running water and TV."

Ibiki had to smile at that.

Kankuro smirked. "Yeah, man. We survived all that. We'll be fine here. Besides, we can summon you if we need you for anything, jan."

Baki read right past that smirk; Kankuro was covering his worry with one of his usual performances. But he was doing it for Baki's sake, so Baki took a deep breath and nodded. "Very well then. You're right. You're a strong team. You'll be fine." He sounded more confident than he felt. He believed in his kids, and ANBU and he were just a call away. But this was Orochimaru, after all, and Baki had just betrayed him. He was going to worry about his kids, and that was simply that.

Ibiki patted Baki on the shoulder and then produced a gold coin. It wasn't regular currency. It was an old collector's coin that he kept in his pocket for good luck. "Good luck charm," he explained quietly. "I figure it's good enough for a summon token." He performed his jutsu on it, making it glow, and held it out to Baki. "Here. Take it. When you hold it for five seconds, it'll key to your chakra and summon you when someone else prods it with chakra."

"Thank you." Baki took it and held it, counting to five. Once the jutsu completed, he handed the coin over to Kankuro, who immediately pocketed it.

Ibiki nodded. "Good. Now you'll always know where your sensei is: he's going to be with me. All the top political prisoners and witnesses have stayed with me over the years. It might be predictable, but I've got the highest security there is. I can call a dozen different agencies at a moment's notice, just like you can now call ANBU and your sensei."

Baki was, in fact, surprised, although he understood Ibiki's reasoning.

Kankuro nodded. "Okay, man. We got it."

Ibiki glanced at the man wryly. "I once had an Iwa defector staying with me for six months. I think I can handle you. The man smoked, drank, and needed to gamble, even if it was only for tokens instead of actual money. He was a pain in the ass. And I still protected him every day."

Baki snorted. "I should think I'd be less than half a pain in the ass as that."

"I think so, too," Ibiki retorted, grinning.

Baki managed an answering grin. After all, he could not let the kids know just what kind of pain he was really in-or why. And he also needed relief from it.

Ibiki nodded at his team. "Alright, take us out, boys."

The team nodded, They'd been milling around, politely pretending not to hear any of the conversations going on. They took up their positions again and mass-teleported Baki and Ibiki to the living room of Ibiki's apartment.

The team departed from there, leaving Baki and Ibiki alone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

"So what are your vices?" Ibiki asked casually. He saw the way Baki looked around the apartment. Lost. "I keep the place well stocked. I'm a good host; though the people I play host to may be a little unusual." He added, "You're definitely not the strangest." And he offered a grin. "Neither was the defector from Iwa."

"Oh?" Baki wondered just how strange the strangest was, then. "Well, I'll be boring, then. I don't have any vices."

Ibiki swallowed a laugh. That would not be nice; and he wouldn't be laughing because Baki was joking. He almost laughed because the man was serious. _Oh, you are going to be fun_. "How about something to eat, then," Ibiki suggested. "And drink."

A straight-laced jonin from Suna. This was definitely going to be a change of pace.

A drink didn't sound half-bad given the kind of day Baki had had. "I could go for that." He retreated to the foyer to pull off his sandals, then sized up his temporary new home-with an interrogator of all people. A long sofa facing a TV with a coffee table in between them. Very straightforward.

Ibiki smiled. "You could go for food and a drink. That's it?" He shook his head. "What I meant was..." He held in a sigh. "_What_ would you like to eat and drink?" _I'm an interrogator, not a mind reader_.

The mind reader worked upstairs. Inoichi Yamanaka held the office above Ibiki's at work, and they knew each other professionally.

Baki stopped to consider the question. He felt indecisive at best; in his current frame of mind, food was food. "Beef yakisoba. Sake." Baki didn't usually drink sake; it tasted like Temari's fingernail polish remover smelled. It was a real testament to his pain that he was actually going to drink the stuff.

Ibiki nodded. "Alright. Sit down at the sofa, then. I run a casual household when it comes to where to eat. You may as well be comfortable." He discarded his own sandals in the foyer and padded into the kitchen, not bothering to take off his gloves. He took out a frozen dinner helpfully marked 'beef yakisoba', with an accompanying picture, and dissected the package, separating the frozen vegetables from the frozen pasta and sauce packet. Of course, such things were usually 'add meat for a full meal'. Ibiki wouldn't want to eat bottom of the barrel prepackaged meat anyway.

He got a steak out of the freezer as well and defrosted it in the microwave until it was thawed enough to cook without getting tough.

Ibiki paused and called, "Did you want that drink before food or after? I'm not going to tell you what I recommend. You know your mind."

"Before," Baki said resolutely. He could hold his liquor fairly well, and he wanted the full effect.

Ibiki nodded. An automatic response, given that Baki couldn't see him; he was around the partial wall separating the living room from the kitchen. "Alright. Hot or cold, Baki?" It was a gamble to drop the honorific; but if he used one, it would only remind Baki that he was in a foreign land, depending on a stranger. Best to dispense with such things. At least he could return the favor.

"And it's Ibiki, not Morino-san."

After he threw the steak into the wok to sizzle and washed off his gloves, he retrieved the sake from the refrigerator.

_Fast,_ Baki thought, but he figured a psychological pro like Ibiki was trying to make him feel at home. "Ibiki it is, then. And cold." He preferred it hot, if he were going to drink it at all, but cold he could put it down in one gulp more easily.

"Ah," Ibiki said. As in, he preferred it cold because the taste was bad enough then. He found hot sake unbearable. But, he didn't know if Baki actually cared, or if it was just a quick way to get drunk. He suspected it was the latter. He got a sake glass out from the cupboard and delivered the bottle and the glass to his guest, handing out the glass first. "Allow me," Ibiki said. He smiled and raised an eyebrow. "It is polite, after all."

Then he poured Baki a drink. Ibiki sat down on the sofa, resting the open bottle between them.

He was timing the steak in his head: about seven minutes on one side, and seven on the other. It had only been a minute, so he could sit here for a few.

"Thank you." Baki kicked back the entire cup in one gulp, swallowing quickly. He held his breath for the ordeal and shivered faintly when he breathed again, the fumes getting him. His throat and stomach burned from the alcohol. Hopefully in a few minutes, he just wouldn't care. He exhaled and let his head rest on the couch back.

"Want another?" Ibiki asked. Though, he didn't miss the shudder. Most sake drinkers didn't shudder when they drank the stuff. It was a sign of not being used to it. Traditional sake etiquette was to act as if you'd imbibed water, therefore Ibiki guessed that Baki hadn't been able to help it.

"You know, I've got other stuff, if you'd prefer something else," Ibiki offered. "I'm certainly not a sake drinker. I keep it on hand for other people."

"Such as?" Baki asked, closing his eyes. Warmth was expanding through his chest now.

"Well, I've got pretty much everything that's sold on the market in Konoha," Ibiki said. "Beer, shochu, chuhai, plum wine, and whiskey." Shochu was like vodka; made from a mixture of potato grain alcohol and rice based alcohol, popular to mix into something fruity. Chuhai was fruit flavored beer.

"Chuhai," Baki said, glad for the reprieve. The sake should take the edge off; the chuhai would make sure he didn't end up totally plastered.

Ibiki nodded. "That's more like what I prefer, myself. Something that tastes good rather than tastes like crap and subjects me to misery." He rose, taking the glass and sake bottle. He washed out the glass in the sink and returned the bottle to the refrigerator. "Ah, what flavor?" he called. "Anything? I get the variety packs so I don't have to guess what my next guest is going to like."

"Berry," Baki called.

"Alright," Ibiki said. "I'm pretty sure I've got that." He looked at the seasonal pack. _Ah, yes, Summer Flavors_. It was summer, so he had not one berry flavor to choose from, but three. "Alright, you've got a choice. Blueberry, blackberry, or raspberry?"

Baki thought he could go for anything but blueberry. "Raspberry," he decided.

Ibiki grabbed the can of raspberry chuhai and crossed the space between them, handing it off. "Here you go." He wiped the condensation from the can off on his pants leg. "I'll be right back. Got to flip the steak." That done, he retired back to the sofa.

"Thanks." The world was a fuzzier place now. Baki popped open the can of chuhai and sipped it, eradicating with relief the leftover sake taste. He felt like talking. He talked. "To missed friends." He held up his can. "Kampai." He took another swig. "God. My life made sense when I got up this morning. Now it makes none at all. Sensei..." _Don't get sentimental,_ he warned himself.

His mouth decided to keep going. "Our jobs are hell." He often thought so for different reasons, like many others, but in Suna one didn't say such things. "My kids...I'll wait till after the exam to tell them." Assuming the exam was completed and the invasion stopped.

Ibiki squeezed Baki's shoulder and scooted closer, eliminating the polite six inch gap between them. He draped an arm around Baki's shoulders casually. "Probably wise." He nodded slowly. "And yeah, our jobs are hell. Some serious hell, sometimes."

Baki wasn't the first person to sit down on his couch and just start talking. He did that to people. That was one of the traits that made him a good interrogator. He'd been this way before the job, though, so it wasn't an act of malicious intent.

Baki wasn't even the first person who had said 'Our jobs are hell', and gotten an unequivocal agreement. Ibiki could think of at least three other people who'd sought asylum in this apartment, each of them from different circumstances. The defector from Iwa. A kunoichi from Amegakure. A civilian from the Land of Rain.

The civilian had been a ditch digger recruited by the military forces. A job as unpleasant as any other.

At the closing of polite distance and the arm around his shoulders, Baki balanced the can of chuhai on his leg and rolled his head on the couch back, taking a look at Ibiki. _This guy's pretty touchie-feelie. Hugged me. Held me. Got his arm around me now, listening to my tipsy ass talk_. Baki wondered at it for a moment. _Kill them with kindness, ne?_ he found himself thinking again. _Or...?_ "What a conversation that'll be," he continued, referring back to telling his team about their father. Not that he bothered with the context. "We stopped an invasion, you all made chunin, and-by the way-your father is dead!" Gaara might feel relief, Baki mused, but Kankuro's and Temari's relationship with their father was different. Better.

Ibiki tightened his arm around Baki's shoulders. "Yeah, I know. You're gonna wanna be anywhere but there, but the duty falls to you. They wouldn't want to hear it from anyone else. And at the end of the day, you _are_ their father, right? So all you have to do is come out of this alive and well, and they've got a dad to come home to."

Baki looked away quickly; he felt a sheen of tears come to his eyes. "I'll be their dad," he said, his voice rougher than he would have liked. "I'll take care of them." Maybe alcohol hadn't been such a great idea after all. Too late now.

He rolled his head to face Ibiki again when he was sure his eyes were dry. "You care a lot for someone who shouldn't care." Or seemed to. The arm around him was tight and strong. This from an interrogator of Ibiki Morino's reputation?

Ibiki gave him a grin. "Hey. You've got enough to do without trying to tell me what to do." He squeezed Baki's shoulders in a casual one-armed hug and jumped up from the couch. "And you're already their dad. They already love you; I could see it when we relocated them. It was obvious." He walked into the kitchen, saved the steak from overcooking, and dumped in the frozen vegetables, putting the lid on the wok.

He could put the pasta in as well, but he didn't like cooking the vegetables and pasta at the same time.

Ibiki returned to the living room and sat down right where he'd been. If he was 'too close', or whatever, Baki would push him away.

Baki felt it particularly unnecessary to push Ibiki away. Even if he couldn't understand it, or even if it were an act, Baki needed the sympathy right now. He didn't deal with the deaths of close friends or loved ones very well. Not that he supposed anyone really did. "Thank you."

"For what?" Ibiki asked, draping his arm around Baki's shoulders again. He always approached it this way at first; he couldn't tell if Baki was one of those guys who wanted to pretend 'everything was cool' aside from an embarrassed urge to thank him.

That left Baki in a bind. He didn't want to say 'for caring' if it were an act and saying 'for taking care of me' seemed too sappy even with the sake buzz. And yet that was what it was. "For being here. Tough day." There. A middle ground.

Ibiki suppressed a smile. _Ah. One of these people. So, tough on the outside, gooey in the middle._ His favorite kind; it was amusing to watch them act tough, and satisfying to be able to be here for somebody. "No problem. I'm always here. Even if 'tough day' expands into 'tough week' or 'tough month'. I'm not shy."

Ibiki had a kind face. Baki noticed it suddenly and was surprised. The suppressed smile still softened his features, and the two scars were meaningless. "Good deal." He wasn't exactly going to say no to that, especially if it were genuine. He took another swig of chuhai; the raspberry tasted heavenly by comparison to the sake. The sweet fruit taste with a small bite to it.

He closed his eyes again. Strange how he felt safe enough to do that. However, he wasn't an amateur at reading people, himself. Ibiki wasn't going to hurt him; of that he was now sure.

Ibiki tightened his arm around Baki's shoulders gently. "Best to relax, after a day like this. Food's almost ready - can't guarantee the quality, but I dare to suggest that someone who asks for the 'food' kind of food isn't going to be disappointed."

Baki chuckled.

Ibiki grinned. "Be right back." He hopped up and rescued the vegetables, then dumped the pasta in. The pasta defrosted and broke up pretty quickly; he left it for last because it was easier to cook if it was defrosted. He added the vegetables, the meat, and sauce packet, stirring everything together with a wooden spoon with teeth like a fork. "Okay. It's ready. And it's hot. Not that you wouldn't expect yakisoba to be."

He piled the food in a couple of bowls, grabbed chopsticks, and returned to the living room. "Not too hot to hold, thankfully. Chopsticks. There." After handing it off, Ibiki sat down with his own bowl of food and chopsticks, sitting a little further away than he had been in order to give Baki elbow room.

Baki set his can of chuhai on the coffee table and accepted the bowl of yakisoba gratefully. He realized abruptly he was hungry, and the food smelled good. "Itadakimasu." He dug in with the chopsticks, found the steak to be tender, and the noodles perfect. "It's good," he said, both polite and honest.

Ibiki chuckled. "Thank you. You didn't have to say so, but it's nice. I can tell you're a polite guy." He ate a mouthful of food himself and had to agree that he'd done a good job. "Would you like some tv? There's some stupid game shows on right now."

"Too much noise," Baki said, not wanting to develop a headache. Plus he wasn't sure he could take the press of normalcy against his emotional abnormalcy. Watching people have fun seemed wrong somehow.

Ibiki nodded. He watched the expressions crossing Baki's face sympathetically. _Too normal._ "I'm cool either way," Ibiki said, reclining against the back of the sofa.

_He doesn't want to be miserable right now, but he's too raw to want to be happy_.

Baki nodded in return and leaned back against the sofa as well, tucking his half-veil behind his ear to avoid getting food on it. Somehow sitting quietly with Ibiki helped him to relax. Well, the sake probably helped, too. But without Ibiki's compassion, Baki doubted it would've worked.

"So, there's a spare bedroom, in case you wondered," Ibiki offered after a few moments of silence. He judged the silence to be relatively companionable. "Though you have the option of sleeping here on the sofa if you'd rather. Some people have chosen the sofa over the bed. I don't think that has anything to do with the mattress, though. Mattress is perfectly good."

"I had wondered, and I think I'll take the bed." At Baki's height, sofas didn't really work.

Ibiki chuckled. "I don't blame you." He let the silence lapse again from his end, not intending to say anything else for a while unless Baki asked him a question. He was content to sit here and eat.

Baki found his mind wandering back to memories: the day at the academy he'd gotten badly hurt and his sensei had carried him home; the day his sensei had been named Kazekage; the final real conversation they'd had about the kids and their potential for passing the chunin exam. A dozen memories, all positive. All now painful.

He ate as yakisoba with a mindless appetite, letting the images wash over him.

Ibiki noticed Baki's posture and facial expressions, watching discretely out of the corner of his eye as he ate. When he judged that Baki wasn't going to speak, he suggested, "You can let it out, you know. I'm strong enough to handle it, whatever it is." _Strong enough to handle you, even at your worst_. "You need someone, and I'm here, and I'm willing."

Baki glanced at him, then set his empty bowl on the coffee table as well. "He was my friend. You said you already knew, but . . . when my parents died, he took a vested interest in me. Went to the funeral. Held me when I cried. Stayed after school with me. Helped finish my training. Made sure I graduated. He was like an older brother, really. And - " He looked down at his hands and found them trembling. "After that, I was always special to him. He didn't lose track of me. He visited. I visited. I . . . for 24 years. He never even considered anyone else for the position of his kids' sensei. I was his first choice." _Oh, God, I'm going to cry again_. The room wavered a bit in his vision; the salt of his tears burned his eyes. "I can't," he whispered, clenching his teeth together.

Ibiki set aside his bowl of yakisoba in a hurry when Baki immediately started unloading. _He's good at this. He has someone he talks to. He knows how_. And then, when desperation edged into Baki's voice, Ibiki knew he had to scramble. _Shit!_ He wrapped his arms around Baki and hugged the man tightly. "You can. It's okay."

But the person Baki best knew how to unload to was now dead. Baki took a deep breath, gave it up, and hugged Ibiki back for the second time that day. "God!" It was all he could say. "God!" He blamed the new tears on the alcohol. But losing someone like his sensei was no small deal. He had advised Baki, listened to Baki's problems and frustrations, and ultimately made Baki feel safe.

"What will we do now?" Not just him; the kids. The whole village. "What will we do now?"

"The person you told things to was Hirohiko-sensei, wasn't it?" Ibiki said softly. "That's why you're not dead inside, like a lot of people I know. Like people you know. You know how to let go, and it's because of your Sensei. And there are other people who learned a similar lesson, who know when to let go, who know how to help other people let go. You're not alone, Baki; far from it."

He squeezed the man gently and took a risk, rubbing Baki's back with one hand. "We all will do what we have always done: survive. There is more to life than survival, but we can certainly do that. No matter how hard they try, people like Orochimaru can't ruin the world. They just try. But we're stronger than that, aren't we? Because we're always going to be stronger. When one of us falls, all of us pitch in to carry the load that person once did. Your village isn't going to fall. You're not going to fall. Your kids aren't going to fall. One day, when you're ready for it, you'll feel normal again."

He didn't give out these speeches to just anyone. If he did, he'd end up with a black eye and a broken jaw. But Baki was the right kind of man. The kind of man who needed to hear this; needed it just as much as Ibiki needed to tell someone.

Baki was well-versed in giving speeches about perseverance; he often did. Receiving one in turn, especially one that offered him help, stabilized him and enabled him to stop crying. He took several deep breaths. Yes, that was one of the worst parts: the fear he'd fall with no one to catch him now; the fear the kids would fall and he'd be unable to catch them. "Right," he whispered, letting Ibiki rub his back. _I don't think it's an act. Somehow, someway, this guy really gets it. He understands._ Baki wasn't sure how it had happened, but he'd tripped, and when he had, he'd ended up in the arms of someone much like his sensei.

Ibiki nodded. "That's right. I'm one of the people here to catch you. I've got you. I'm another adult human being, a person capable of understanding, of offering help. And I'm all yours. You don't have to keep everything to yourself and hope for the best. You can share the load, the burden."

He could go that far, because Baki let him go that far. He continued rubbing Baki's back. "You're a good man. You've got good kids. I know you'll make it through this on top."

Baki hardly knew what to say to the offer, but he was grateful for it. After all, he'd be under this man's protection for the next month. To the reassurances, he knew how to respond: "Thanks." He noticed, then, that the man hugging him was solid, strong. He hadn't noticed a thing like that about a man in a long time.

"No problem," Ibiki said quietly. "I'm not one of those people who believes that masculinity is about being dead inside."

Baki sat up straighter and looked at Ibiki with a wondering gaze. "You - " He wasn't even sure how to formulate his response to that except to know he understood exactly what Ibiki meant. In their cultures, men - especially shinobi men - were expected to be emotionless. Essentially dead inside. Baki took in all of Ibiki's actions under the rejection of that credo and nodded. "It's too much to ask, isn't it? To do our jobs and be dead inside, too? Somewhere, in some way, we have to be human."

Ibiki nodded, gratified and not at all surprised that Baki understood. He looked into Baki's eyes. "Exactly. I want my humanity. I'm not giving that up for anyone. Even if I do have to be the head of the Torture and Interrogation Division. That's not an excuse to take away what makes me a human being. And I won't dehumanize others."

Baki nodded. He felt like his understanding of this man was beginning to solidify. He also managed to notice that Ibiki wasn't too bad looking of a fellow. Rather handsome, really.

It had been a long, long time indeed since he'd noticed such a thing.

Ibiki noticed Baki studying his face and smiled, amused. "It's been a while since someone got past the scars." He couldn't resist pointing out that he could read Baki no problem. "What do you see?"

He meant it as a tease, but it would be interesting if Baki answered him truthfully instead of answering in kind.

Not having expected such a blunt question, and not catching quickly enough that it was a tease, Baki found himself answering honestly. "The scars mean nothing. We all have scars somewhere. Why should anyone care about those?"

Ibiki chuckled, delighted at Baki's mile-wide honest streak. "You know what? I like you."

Baki found a blush on his cheeks. "Ah . . . thank you."

Ibiki blinked, surprised. Then he grinned broadly. "You're welcome. Some more chuhai? Or maybe something more to eat? I can't imagine you've had much in the last twenty-four hours."

_A blusher. Now that's interesting_. He didn't often come across trained shinobi with blush responses. _Baki must have it bad, then_. A blush was an involuntary response, usually inherited through family. It had to do with biology and anatomy, not with self-control. Though if the response was minor, he'd seen people control it before. _This must be a miserable handicap for a Sand ninja to have_.

He'd noticed that Sand highly valued physical stoicism in their ninjas, both male and female.

"More chuhai," Baki said. He really didn't have much of an appetite. "The blackberry one this time, if you don't mind."

Ibiki nodded, patted Baki on the back, and rose from the sofa. "No problem. I'll help myself to one as well. Probably strawberry." He retrieved a strawberry chuhai and a blackberry chuhai from the fridge and came back, handing off the blackberry to Baki before sitting down. "Kampai." He popped the tab on the can of chuhai - it was like a taller version of a soda can - and took a long sip.

Baki popped the tab and matched the gesture. "Kampai." More alcohol to the rescue, it seemed. Or to trip him up. He hardly cared which. He should've known Ibiki could read off of him that he'd noticed Ibiki physically, but he hadn't expected him to comment on it. The spontaneous 'I like you' had really tipped the balance on him, too, enough to blush. He found himself wondering how Ibiki meant the word 'like' in this case. But as far as he could tell, Ibiki hadn't noticed him that way. Baki kept mostly to himself outside of work, so this wasn't really new to him.

"You're going to get drunk, aren't you?" Ibiki asked. He didn't think he'd get drunk, even if he kept up with the man. Chuhai wasn't the strongest beverage in the world. Unlike him, Baki had taken a shot of sake first. He took another sip of his chuhai and smiled, cheerfully awaiting a response.

"I can hold my liquor pretty well," Baki said, giving him a sideways smile. "You might be surprised. Tipsy, though...yeah, probably." He took another long sip. A day like today deserves some tipsiness, I think." He didn't want to think, though. Distraction was now welcome.

Ibiki nodded. "A day like today...definitely. Get tipsy." He shrugged. "Get drunk. I don't care. I'll just show you where the bathroom is when you have to throw up. I'm not going to get in the way of any coping rituals."

He took another sip of his drink.

Baki wasn't sure that was his preferred coping ritual. "Tipsy'll be fine." He followed that with another long sip. Then remembered that being tipsy sometimes made him flirt. _I better be careful here_.

He wasn't sure he could flirt on a day like today, but in the realm of distraction, it would be number one.

Ibiki grinned. "Personally preferred by me, but like I said, I'm an accepting guy. I've had lots stranger than you hanging out at my apartment." He took a long drink. His mouth was saturated with strawberry flavoring, and he felt pretty good. _Damn, I like chuhai. When's the last time I had an excuse to drink it?_ He didn't indulge himself in things unless there was a guest to keep company.

"Lots of people - and they'll deny this, of course - want to throw up. They'll drink just to be able to do it without arousing suspicion or self-loathing." He chuckled. "I've heard Tsunade - our very own Tsunade-sama - is one of those people. Not that she's been around lately for me to see - I was a kid when she left - but reputedly."

He paused, noticing that he was buzzed. "Tell me if you want me to shut up about the psychology crap."

"That's disturbing," Baki said. "I hate to vomit." He paused at the offer. "No, the 'psychology crap' is fine." He found a smile for Ibiki.

Ibiki was touched by the consideration. _The man's in a lot of pain, and yet he's taking the time to try to make me feel comfortable with him_. "Thanks. I tend to talk about that stuff when I'm buzzed." He grinned. "Tipsy, and it'll be jokes."

"Jokes?" Baki had to shake his head. Konoha's most feared interrogator got tipsy and told jokes? _Well, it only proves he really is human_.

Ibiki snorted. "Well, I never said they were good jokes." He finished off his can of chuhai. "Want another? I'm getting another one for me."

Baki sucked the rest of his down and handed over the empty can. "Sure thing."

At this rate, he was sure to end up tipsy.

Ibiki collected it and disposed of both cans in the kitchen, then got out a strawberry for him. "Hey, Baki. Still blackberry? I got a lot of other flavors..."

"Nah, blackberry's good," Baki called.

"Excellent." Ibiki brought back their drinks, handed his can off to Baki, and promptly opened his next strawberry chuhai. "Kampai." He raised his can and then drank. "At the bottom of this are jokes."

He calculated he'd need a third to stay in the tipsy zone instead of falling back into being buzzed, though.

"Kampai." Baki considered his new can of chuhai. "At the bottom of this are probably...inappropriate comments."

"Oh, how interesting." Ibiki gave him a bright smile. "I can't wait."

Baki snorted.

"People are so interesting," Ibiki said. He felt pleasantly warm by now, and his strawberry chuhai just wouldn't stop tasting good. He took a drink. "You know? They really are. We're all different, but we're the same. Same principles. Same worries and fears, basically. At the bottom of things. And same...you know...same needs. Everyone needs love." Okay, he was in that weird range between tipsy and buzzed he wasn't sure he liked.

It was the feared Philosophical Stage.

Ibiki hastily took another drink of his chuhai. "Just saying."

Baki nodded slowly at this profundity. "It's true."

Ibiki felt immensely comforted by the man's acceptance. "It's true," he repeated, turning his can of chuhai in his hand and looking down through the keyhole-like opening. "We all need love. We're built in all sort of different ways, but we all run on love. Same fuel. Same needs. I need - I need as much love as the next person. I'm not immune. Neither is anyone else in my division. We're all the same. We all go home to someone, sooner or later. Someone who can fill us back up. You know, I'm not - " _Oh, how I wish I could stop talking_. "-that different than anybody. I didn't even prefer the whole 'let's make a reputation for ourselves' tactic we learned about in school. I don't care if anybody knows me or not. When people come in to me afraid, half the time it's just harder! I'm not trying to scare anybody, nine times out ten. Nine times out of ten, I have to get people to relax. Just relax."

Ibiki drank the rest of what was in his can, shiftily hoping it kicked in soon.

_This guy is lonely,_ Baki surmised. _Very lonely_. He considered Ibiki for several long moments, having become more tipsy than Ibiki was. "You're not different. You're normal." Very casually: "Also handsome. The solid and strong type." He nodded at what he considered his own profundity. "There's no reason for you to be alone."

Ibiki burst out laughing. That was hilarious. "I'm alone cause of my job." He crushed his can in one hand and flopped back against the sofa, tossing the crushed can onto the coffee table without being able to care. "That's a big, fat reason. Omnipresent reason. I'm never not going to be the head of T&I. I'm too good at it."

He glanced at Baki. "Unless I have guests I need to guard against the big, bad stuff in the world outside. That's pretty good times." He thought for a moment. "This is pretty good times. Wanna hear a joke? I know one about a vampire."

_This guy needs to unload, too,_ Baki decided. "I'm not afraid of you," he said, enunciating each word clearly.

Ibiki almost burst out crying, from the sheer surprise of it. He grabbed a hold of his self-control quickly. "That's good," he said, even though his voice was cracking. "That'd be a pain in the neck." He realized he'd crossed his response somehow with his joke.

Baki gave him a grin that was likely a bit too large, considering the tipsiness. "Hey, would I bother to notice a guy I was afraid of? No way. I barely get time to notice anyone at all. I ain't gonna waste it on someone scary. Masochism is not my thing."

Ibiki wished he weren't so grateful, or touched. "Hey, y-you caught my attention right away. You're a nice guy. You're not like the guys I have to talk to all day, all these killers and sociopaths and s-stupid maniacs who want to ruin the world for everybody. You're a nice guy. You're a good guy. I knew you weren't in it for the evil you could do. You had no idea about Orochimaru's tricks. Y-You're honest."

He stood, and was glad he didn't sway. He pointed at Baki. "You deserve another chuhai. I'm - I'm having one anyway."

"Sure," Baki agreed easily. _He noticed me right away?_

Ibiki nodded and marched to the kitchen and back, retrieving more magical beverage that loosened people's tongues. _Hell, yeah_. He handed Baki his drink and popped the top on his own, taking a long sip. Then he blinked. "Oh. Kampai. Yeah." Then he resumed drinking.

He sat down. "You know, you're not a bad guy." _Wait, I missed the Jokes Stage somewhere. Where did it go?_ Then he realized he'd had half a bowl of yakisoba, and no lunch. _Hmm. This might be a whole new stage of drunkenness to explore_. He could just see Anko cheering him on, waving a little flag like people took to sports games.

Baki had popped open his chuhai without remembering the kampai. "I'm not, huh?" He found himself very fuzzy by this point; a smile came easily to his face. All the hugs and holding and the hand on his chin and the stroking of his cheek were making better sense now. He took a swig of his blackberry chuhai and considered his options. Suddenly he very much wanted to return the favor. He reached up and cupped Ibiki's cheek with one hand. "You're not a bad guy, either. You're a good guy." Yep, that was profound. Baki pushed forward. "A good guy who took the time to comfort someone he should've seen as a traitor." He stroked his cheek with one thumb. "You were very gentle with me." Oh, yeah, he was far gone. He also didn't care.

Ibiki looked at Baki with wide eyes. The can of chuhai slipped out of his hand and fell to the floor, landing softly on the carpet. Remarkably, it balanced against the side of the sofa and stayed upright. Ibiki had time to marvel had how absolutely extraordinary that was before his gaze snapped back to Baki, and he realized that warm feeling was Baki stroking his cheek, running his thumb over it.

Ibiki's mouth fell open as he registered the words, and his chin trembled. "I'll a-always be gentle with you..." He sucked in his breath as his eyes suddenly stung. "I'm not...a bad guy..."

For some reason, those words provided Baki with a wave of arousal, just as the tears struck him with motivation to act quickly. He clumsily set the can of chuhai on the coffee table, then leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Ibiki's lips.

Ibiki was shocked. He couldn't react in time and grabbed Baki's shoulder, pulling Baki back to him and kissing Baki's lips. _Blackberry,_ he thought instantly. Having gotten to react, he let Baki go and rescued his chuhai, picking it up off the floor and setting it on the coffee table.

Then he wrapped his arms around Baki and hugged the man tightly. What they'd done caught up to his brain. _Wait. Did we just kiss?_

Baki hugged Ibiki back just as tightly, hoping the man wouldn't regret their kiss in the morning. If Ibiki didn't, he wouldn't. He rubbed Ibiki's back slowly, still tasting strawberry on his lips. "Was... that okay?" he managed to ask. It wasn't like he'd secured Ibiki's permission first.

Ibiki burst out sobbing. Somehow, that simple question undid all of his attempts at self-control up to this point. He cried and clung to Baki, grasping the back of the man's military vest with both hands. "How come no one wants to be with me? Is it because I'm so b-big and mean?" He couldn't talk through his tears for a few moments after a question like that. "But I'm not even mean!"

Being only two inches shorter than Ibiki, Baki had to shake his head. "We're nearly the same size. You're not bothering me any." He continued to rub his back, giving back the comfort he'd received. "And you've been nothing but kind to me. All day long. To me, you are neither big nor mean."

Ibiki swallowed and managed to stop crying. He felt ridiculous, but he was comforted by the fact that he and Baki were the same size. That meant he couldn't tower over Baki. Nothing he did just by _being_ would intimidate the man. Ibiki squeezed him. "I appreciate it." _It's been too long since I cried. That was explosive_.

He tried to think through his haze. It was difficult. "Don't let me bother you."

"I won't," Baki promised. He leaned back and caressed Ibiki's damp cheek. "I wouldn't."

Ibiki tilted his head, pressing into the touch, and smiled at Baki. "You're - You're a good man. I don't guard many good men. Cooperative men, maybe, but that doesn't make them good. Or women."

He let out a long, slow sigh. "That's the bane of my job. I never get to meet good men. How did you -" He shook his head. "You were an accident."

Baki chuckled faintly. "I suppose I was."

Ibiki felt a smile curve his lips. "And a family man. I like family men. So stable. They've got kids...and they know their priorities."

In the back of his mind, he suspected what he'd just said was deeply embarrassing. And in the morning, he would figure out how.

Baki just smiled, deeply complimented by that given his feelings for his team. "Thank you."

Ibiki's smile spread into a grin. "No problem. You're the best - the best person - that's ever happened to me. It's been twenty-five years. I always get the big cases, cause I'm the best. But the best means I get all the worst. S'...Does that make sense?"

Baki nodded his head. "Absolutely."

Ibiki wrapped his arms around Baki anew and held on with all of his might. "I love you. You're so good."

Baki wrapped his arms around Ibiki as well, stunned that a day this horrible would end in a love declaration. They were both drunk, but Ibiki seemed serious, nonetheless. And Baki felt enveloped in that care. "Love you, too."

Ibiki leaned against Baki, closing his eyes, comforted by the fact that Baki could bear his weight. "Stay good, Baki. Stay good."

"Hai," Baki whispered, accepting the weight easily. "I will."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

The following morning could be summed up with one word:

Awkward.

Exiting the bathroom, Baki heard running water in the kitchen and headed there, complete with hangover. "Ohayo," he groaned as he flopped down in a table chair. _I only meant to get tipsy last night. How did this happen again? Oh, yeah, and let me not forget,_ he thought with some sarcasm. _I kissed a man I barely know_. He watched Ibiki, who was at the kitchen sink, washing dishes.

Ibiki mildly continued washing the same plate three times as he heard Baki approach and enter the room. "Ohayo." He rinsed the plate with extreme carefulness, eliminating even the tiniest of soap bubbles, watching water run off of the polished surface before setting it in the drain board. He'd had a few left over dishes from before last night, since he hadn't known he would be doing anything special. Like bringing a strong, built, mulishly honest Sand nin into his house to burst into tears in front of.

He wanted to make the dishes last.

"Breakfast?" he asked, as if nothing in the world was wrong, and they certainly hadn't kissed last night...for some reason.

Baki assessed his condition. "About all I could get down is rice. And a soda. If you got that, then sure."

Ibiki was acting as though nothing had happened, and Baki wondered about it. Well, they both had to be embarrassed, he figured, considering they cried all over each other in addition to kissing.

"I've got rice and soda," Ibiki said. He paused, and glanced in Baki's direction. Well, the sight of the Sand nin didn't burn his eyes out of their sockets or turn him to stone. Maybe he wasn't as embarrassed as he thought. "I've also got a hangover remedy if you want. It's like...hmm...fizzy tablets. I think. I keep them with the cold medication in the medicine cabinet."

In fact, he could look at Baki without blushing. _I must have great self-control. Maybe it's denial._

Baki nodded. "Oh, yeah. Definitely." His head was pounding, and his mouth was so dry he'd actually had to cup his hands and drink water out of the bathroom faucet before exiting. Despite that, his mouth still felt like he was sucking on a wad of cotton.

"I'll get it." Ibiki finished washing the yakisoba bowls from last night and walked out of the kitchen, through the living room, and into the bathroom. He found the hangover remedy and came back, setting the packet of two tablets on the kitchen table in front of Baki and then getting the man a glass of water.

Ibiki stood by the table casually. "You know, I get drunk with everyone. It happens usually in the first week. It's freeing. Everybody has something they'd like to say that they can't get out unless they're less than sober. And I share things too, and it brings me and my guests closer. Builds a bond of trust. That sort of thing." _Which is probably why I don't feel the urge to run away_.

He waited for Baki to take the hangover tablets. "You just pop those in water. Then drink the water. You know. Once it dissolves."

Baki nodded, following the directions. Within moments he had refreshingly cold, fizzy water to drink. He didn't even care that it tasted of saline and slurped it down. He set the empty glass on the table and gazed at Ibiki. _He's acting pretty business-like. Is this code for 'It's no big deal?'_ In order to save face, Baki was determined to match whatever attitude the man put forward.

"Thanks," he said. He paused, trying to figure out what to say next, and couldn't.

Ibiki paused. "I...ah...never kissed anyone before, though." He gave Baki a small, crooked smile. "That's new." He was testing the waters. If Baki didn't want to face what had happened, then he wouldn't press his luck.

_So we are going to put it out there,_ Baki thought. He grinned. "Well, that's good to know, I guess."

Ibiki didn't know what to make of the grin, but he thought the man's response to his statement was pretty telling. _So he's not ashamed. Just...hmm_. _Wary? Well, I would be, too._ "Done with that glass?"

"Sure." Baki handed it to Ibiki and consciously relaxed his posture, dropping his shoulders. _I promised myself I wouldn't be ashamed if he wasn't. And he's not apologizing or acting horrified_.

Ibiki raised the glass, smiled, and walked it over to the sink, turning on the faucet. He rinsed it out and washed it, inside and out. Then he stopped and stared into the sudsy cup. "Um...well..." He glanced at Baki, suppressing a laugh. His instinct was to turn the question into a joke, but he wouldn't let himself. He needed to face this seriously. "I guess I've got a question."

Baki tilted his head. "Sure, no problem." He was intensely curious about what question that would be.

Ibiki bit his lip to keep his smile from becoming a self-conscious grin. "Are you gay when you're sober?" _Either way, I don't really care. I just wanted to know, because, you know, it kind of...I'm gay, so...It's not something I share with...Oh, I'm glad I shut up when I did. He does not need to know this._

Baki laughed. He couldn't help it.

Ibiki's grin surfaced whether he wanted it to or not.

He waved a hand through the air. "That's - Um, yes. I'm one hundred percent gay one hundred percent of the time. Drinking's not going to change that, either." He hadn't quite expected that question, although it didn't offend him. "I tried dating girls as a teenager, but nope. It's men for me. So, you okay with that?" An awkward question to ask in return, maybe, but Ibiki had kissed back.

And hugged and held and stroked his cheek.

Ibiki found himself extremely and unaccountably relieved. _That's not a 'yes' or anything. He still could say he doesn't want to date you. He might not even want to kiss you again. You might not be his type, he might be pragmatic enough - God knows I should be - not to start something with someone who lives in a foreign country he's not going to be in for more than a month_.

"Ah..." He rinsed the cup and set it in the drain board with a vague smile. "I am...very gay." He hated to say it that way, but there it was. He grimaced. "I break all the stereotypes girls are mad about these days. I'm not small, thin, or young. I was young once, but I was never small or thin. Roly-poly, in fact, until I got past the age of fifteen. It was all baby fat with muscle underneath."

He snorted. "My mother called it 'Morino awkwardness'. She said she had a family album from my dad's side to prove it." He sighed and faced Baki, drumming his fingers on the edge of the sink. "She did. It was true. That didn't make it any more comfortable." He paused. "So. Rice? Soda?"

"I bet," Baki agreed. At the questions, he nodded. "Rice and soda, please." _So we're both gay. That at least makes part of this less awkward and explains a few things_.

Ibiki nodded and forced a smile, although he was horrified that he'd shared something about his image. He opened the refrigerator. "Lemon lime? Ginger ale?"

_I really want this guy to like me. I am so screwed_.

"Either's good. I guess ginger ale," Baki said. He paused. "I guess all guys like us go through an awkward stage, yeah? I went through the gangly, all arms and legs stage. Sensei assured me it would be all right and I'd grow out of it, but I wasn't much comforted. He was average height and thin - graceful, even."

It stung to have to talk about his sensei, but he remembered the way he'd been so awkward and clumsy and shook his head, letting himself smile.

Ibiki nodded, taking the ginger ale from the refrigerator. He shut the door and paused, his smile relaxing at Baki's return offering. _Maybe he likes me, as well_. He handed over the bottle of ginger ale. "Yeah. When you're destined to grow up big, your body does funny stuff to you in the in-between stages."

He'd seen pictures of the Kazekage. Had a dossier on the man, in fact. But he thought it best not to offer his opinions. This was another man's memory of a close comrade. Baki didn't need him muddying it with outside opinions.

Ibiki thought that Yondaime Kazekage had been beautiful. _Unfortunately, one of the things Orochimaru looks for in a face._

He grimaced and turned away. "Yeah, rice. That was it." He crossed the kitchen and got his canister of dry rice down from the cupboard, scooping some of it into his rice cooker and turning it on.

Destroying sweet, gentle people seemed to be a bonus for the deranged Sannin.

Like Baki's beloved Sensei.

Ibiki found himself growing angry at the thought of the lives Orochimaru had ruined.

Baki had caught the grimace and wondered what it was about. Surely not about the trials of youth.

Ibiki took a moment to collect himself and turned around. "Orochimaru is going to pay," he said calmly. "And I have no doubt that you're going to help take him down."

Baki's eyes narrowed instantly. "You got that right. No one is going to murder my sensei, my Kazekage, and get away with it." He was going to aim every ounce of grief he had into helping take down Orochimaru. Right now, he was still half-way in shock. When he reached the anger stage, though, he was sure he'd have plenty of unpleasantness cooked up for Orochimaru.

Ibiki nodded, the corner of his mouth twitching upward in approval.

Baki took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and forced himself to relax again. If he got stuck ruminating on his sensei's death, there would be no helping him.

Ibiki crossed the room and squeezed Baki's shoulder. "We'll get revenge. For everybody. And then everything will be okay. You'll go home, rebuild your lives with your children...help them move on the way you'll be able to. Because you've got the life experience to help them. You're a good sensei and a good father."

Baki gave Ibiki a half-smile and tried to take the words to heart. "Thanks." _I sure hope you're right about all that._

Ibiki squeezed his shoulder again before sitting down in the chair next to Baki's. "No problem. I'm just saying what you'll someday know."

_And why it's totally stupid to grow invested in you. I can't leave my post and join you or anything. My people need me. Your people need you - especially those kids. And one of them is probably going to become the next Kazekage. You've got work ahead of you._

He hated being pragmatic sometimes. But then again, if he weren't pragmatic, he would never get ahead.

Baki nodded and opened his ginger ale, taking a healthy swig of it. His headache and sense of being parched were both slowly easing up. _Ibiki's so friendly. It really would be nice to date the man. But I'll be gone in a month. Then what? Is it worth it to date someone for only a month? Do I even have it in me, considering how much pain I'm in?_ He paused, thinking it through. _Well, dating does not mean marriage, although we'd have to be upfront about those things. And having someone at my side through all this is worth a lot.._.

He gazed at Ibiki, looking him over. _Not to mention -_ "You really are a good guy."

Ibiki snorted and grinned. "Why? For saying the truth?" He paused and thought about that. "Well, maybe. I guess that's true. Not everyone tells the truth. Almost everyone becomes a notorious liar after spending time as a ninja for a while. The job breeds a lot of dishonest bastards." He thought of Kakashi, one of the worst. Loyal to a fault, self-sacrificing to an unhealthy degree...and pure dishonesty.

And for some reason, it was often _his_ job to keep Kakashi in line.

That resulted in the kind of love/hate relationship Kakashi was infamous for creating with others. They pressed each other's buttons, yelled, argued...and in the end both got what they want. In a purely professional, nonsexual way. _And don't think that's not disappointing to me._

Ibiki paused. "You know...why do I always do that?" Then he realized what he'd said would make no sense to his guest. "I was just thinking how I tend to throw myself in with people who either can't or won't stay put long enough for me to build something permanent." He shrugged. "Guess you have nothing to worry about, though. I won't try to sink my hooks in like a crazy person and do that whole denial thing wherein I actually expect you to stay up to the moment that you have to go home."

That answered the question Baki hadn't even gotten up the nerve to ask yet. "I know. I mean, I realize we only have a month here. And I don't expect either one of us to go into denial here about how it'll end. But if nothing else, we should be able to maintain a solid friendship after dating, don't you think?" He looked Ibiki over one last time. "So what do you think? Wanna date?"

Ibiki was shocked and bewildered. "You'd really wanna put yourself through that right now? Are you sure that's wise? I'll be your friend either way. You don't have to date me. You're - Well, you're extremely vulnerable right now, even if it's something you hate to hear. And I don't want to do anything to you that would cause you to feel pressure or obligation, or...Are you sure?"

It really came down to that one, simple, three word question.

Baki gazed at Ibiki in a bit of shock for a moment. _Boy, he really is putting my welfare first_. He was loath to admit it, but he supposed he was vulnerable, very vulnerable, right then. "You aren't pressuring me. And I realize..." _I need to feel loved right now._ Well, that was more honest than even he often was with himself. "I'm sure. If you're sure, I'm sure. After all, we both know we've only got a month."

"Baki..." Ibiki leaned forward, reached across, and cupped Baki's cheek with one gloved hand, running his thumb across Baki's skin in a stroking motion. He knew what Baki was thinking, even if the man wouldn't say it. "I am willing to offer all the comfort you need. I have no problems with that. I would like to comfort you during this time in your life. If only to know that I provided some kind of support to someone who needed it...I'd like to. Even if it doesn't go anywhere. Hell, you could go home and never even write me. As long as I can get you through this, that'd be okay. There's no reason to make you face the things that we're going to do in order to stop this invasion, without any support. I wouldn't. I wouldn't do that to you, or anyone else."

He swallowed. "And the support you want...is something I want to give you. I wouldn't do it, probably, for someone else. Not this kind. But I'd -" His eyes stung, and he was surprised at himself. "I'd do whatever you wanted me to do in order to ease this."

Good men just didn't cross his path. That was what it must come down to.

Baki felt a blush working its way to his cheeks again. For him, there was no reason to try to hold it back - not after those words and that touch. He took in the sheen in Ibiki's eyes, the offer to do whatever he wanted, and the hand on his cheek, and once again, he couldn't help himself. He leaned forward slowly, cupping Ibiki's cheek in his hand, and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

Ibiki gently kissed back. He tasted citrus from the hangover remedy and ginger from the ginger ale. He wondered if he'd ever get a kiss from Baki that wasn't flavored with something, but that was none of his business. He smiled at Baki softly. "So...I guess that's it, then. We seem to have decided on a course of action." He paused. "Do you want to visit the kids after you've had breakfast?"

Baki gave him a small smile in return. "Definitely." His lips tingled from their kiss.

Ibiki nodded. "Okay, then." He realized suddenly that they'd just kissed sober, and that eased some remaining tension in his chest. _It wasn't a fluke. I can relax_.

Baki felt the tension easing from Ibiki and took a deep breath, feeling stabilized. His morning hadn't turned out to be too awkward after all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

They accomplished what they set out to accomplish, and now they were back. Ibiki took Baki to see the kids - who were fine - see Sandaime - who pardoned the man, just like Ibiki thought he would - and gotten official documentation done changing Baki's security status again.

Ibiki sat down at the kitchen table beside Baki and asked, "So, does a man who doesn't have any vices also not have any hobbies?"

Baki snorted. "Guilty as charged."

"Ouch," Ibiki said. "That's gonna make things difficult. How am I supposed to entertain you if you don't know how to entertain yourself?"

Baki barely managed to deflect a sex joke. "Good question. I'm going to have more free time in the next month, probably, than I've had in the last ten years." He frowned. "Well, depending on how our case goes, I guess."

Ibiki nodded sympathetically. "It's a waiting game. It always is when it comes to this kind of thing." He paused. "Really? You haven't had R&R in ten years?"

He found that surprising, somehow. Probably because the going theory was that if you didn't have at least a month of down time in between stressful missions, ninjas would burn out. He knew that was the policy in Konoha, and he'd helped found that policy.

"I exaggerate," Baki said. "But it's true I don't get much free time. I haven't ever since I was elected to the Council of Elders."

"The Council of Elders?" Ibiki blinked. "I'm impressed. I thought you had to be at least forty to be elected. But you're not even thirty-five, yet."

He wondered how he'd missed that. But then, that was the problem with speed-reading on the way to an unexpected interrogation.

"My sensei was instrumental in getting me elected," Baki said. "And it's not without precedent. Still, you're right when you say it's unusual."

Ibiki gave him a small smile. "I see. So you continue to be Baki the prodigy." Ibiki shook his head. "I envy prodigies a little. But not really. Makes life tougher to do everything early, doesn't it?"

Baki took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "It certainly does."

Ibiki reached across and squeezed Baki's shoulder. "I know a few prodigies around here. I've heard what it's like."

Baki gave him a small smile. He appreciated now how physically affectionate Ibiki could be. "You won't be surprised to hear Sensei helped me through it all. He was a prodigy, too, after all. I graduated at age 8, almost 9. He graduated at 9. He understood."

Ibiki nodded. "You have to look out for each other; it's difficult for someone to understand the pressures. Prodigies are expected to start everything early. I imagine that your sensei was focused on helping you remain a kid, even while you were balancing some pretty heavy orders on your head. There's a case in Konoha like that; Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake had such a relationship. A prodigy teaching a prodigy."

Baki was familiar with both names, of course. "Yes, it was a lot like that, so I can imagine."

"Perhaps if I have your permission, I could get Kakashi to talk to you," Ibiki said. "He doesn't talk to many people, but I have a hunch that he would make the time to talk to you. Call it a gut feeling - interrogators have to go on those a lot. Kakashi lost his sensei, too. He would understand the kind of bond you have."

Baki nodded. "I suppose I could consider that." He wasn't sure if he wanted to open up to anyone save Ibiki for now, but he could see the value in talking to someone in a similar position as himself.

"Later," Ibiki said. "When you've had some time. After all, we've got a whole month to deal with. We may as well start planning ahead for those rainy days with nothing to do."

He gave Baki a small smile. _Nothing could probably help more than good old fashioned companionship right now, but later...Kakashi might be key in a successful recovery._ Not that the Copy Ninja considered himself a therapist or anything. Kakashi was simply valuable for the compatible life experience.

"Right now..." Ibiki squeezed Baki's shoulder and released it, leaning back in his chair. "We're going to play some games. And please tell me I don't need to teach you how to play poker."

Baki laughed. "No. Poker I can play."

Ibiki grinned. "Good. So you meet the prerequisite for 'not having time' as opposed to 'not having the first clue what to do with oneself'."

He stood. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get the deck and see how I stack up against a Sand nin." He bowed playfully. "It's not often I have the privilege of playing against one of the most stoic ninjas in the world."

Baki chuckled. "Certainly."

Ibiki went into the living room and got the deck of cards from his game cupboard, then returned to the table already shuffling. He sat down, playing with the cards for a moment, and then dealt them each five cards. "I play the regular old pared-down version. That okay with you? Oh - and if you don't have the particular urge to gamble, then I won't bother thinking of tokens to bet with."

Baki waved off the idea of betting. "No need to bet. Let's just have fun." He really hoped playing games would take his mind off of everything.

Ibiki nodded and looked at his cards. "Hmm." Well, he didn't have anything no matter which way he looked at it, but he was going to think of something. "Want anything to eat or drink?"

"Well, if we drink more chuhai, we're likely to end up playing strip poker," Baki said, unable to resist.

Ibiki grinned and stood up, laying his cards on the table face down. "Chuhai it is, then." He wanted to see what kind of reaction that would get him.

Baki laughed.

"Or, we could play strip poker the old fashioned way, if you don't want alcohol: Sober," Ibiki teased.

Baki felt a bit of warmth in his face at the teasing. For a moment he stopped to consider it: should he really go here or not? "It would probably be more fun tipsy." And... he went there.

Ibiki laughed. "Isn't everything? Okay, besides fighting. Or navigating doors." He opened the refrigerator. "So, which flavor of chuhai would you like to try today? Or is it the classic raspberry from last night?"

"I'll start with lemon today," Baki said, grinning. This was going to prove to be an interesting rest of the afternoon and evening.

Ibiki grinned and handed him a lemon chuhai, selecting blueberry for himself. He hadn't missed the way Baki avoided blueberry, so he'd have to drink them himself to make them disappear. And he kind of liked blueberry.

"Also, want some of the rice balls I made earlier?" He'd ended up with too much rice at breakfast. Neither one of them had managed to stomach much, all in all.

"Sure." Baki popped open the can of lemon chuhai and took a swig. "Might keep us from getting totally plastered again."

Ibiki nodded. "Well, and if you don't want too much of a headache, et cetera, maybe I should get us both glasses of water."

Baki nodded. "Sounds reasonable."

Ibiki set them both up with glasses of water and plates of rice balls, then sat back down again. "Okay, I think we're ready." He looked at his cards again. _Nope. No miraculous transformation_. They were just as bad as before. Not even a pair of two's.

He popped his can of blueberry chuhai and wondered how obvious he wanted to be. Bluffing wasn't a top priority if this was going to be strip poker. "I'm probably going to end up being the first one to have to take something off," Ibiki admitted.

Baki chuckled. He had a pair of jacks. "I think you're right about that."

Ibiki stuck out his tongue. "We'll see if I can dig myself out of this hole. How many cards would you like?"

"Three," Baki said.

"Three cards it is." Ibiki dealt Baki three new cards, took Baki's old cards without seeing what they were, and put them on the bottom of the deck.

Ibiki studied his own hand. "Well...four for me." He was going to keep his queen, just because it was a high card. So he dealt himself four new cards and got rid of the old ones. He ended up with a jack, a ten, a six, and a two. "Wanna make any predictions?" he asked Baki dryly.

Considering Baki had three jacks now, he grinned. "I'm thinking you're losing that leather jacket of yours right away," he teased.

Ibiki laughed. He laid down his cards, fanning them out and showing them off. "I think you're right. What've you got?"

Baki fanned out his cards. "Three jacks, a queen, and a ten."

"Three of a kind," Ibiki groaned. "I can't believe it. You're riding on beginner's luck because of all the time you wasted when you could have been having fun." He collected their cards, shuffled, and then stood up. "Alright, it's off with the coat."

He took off his coat, walked over, and hung it on the peg by the front door. Then he came back, his arms raised. "Feast your eyes on this sexy uniform: dull slate gray nothingness."

Baki laughed.

He grinned and sat down, taking a drink of chuhai. He ate a rice ball before dealing them both a new hand.

"Yes, quite sexy," Baki had to tease. "Just as sexy as flak jackets and turbans."

"You know it," Ibiki retorted. "We're fashion models of the ninja world."

Baki chuckled as he nabbed a rice ball for himself.

Ibiki looked at his cards, smiling. A tiny part of him admitted that he needed an excuse to have fun, too. He wasn't so good at it without a significant push: like someone else to entertain and cheer up. He was great when he was on a crusade for someone else. Ibiki cleared his throat and shook his head. _Well, it's better than last time_. All low cards, but a pair of sixes.

"I am so winning this time," he declared anyway. He lowered his cards and gave Baki a grin. "You better get ready to remove your precious turban."

Baki grinned, a show of all confidence. So far, though, he had nothing. No pairs, no flushes. "We'll see about that."

"Your beginner's luck will probably strike me down," Ibiki said. "But I can hope." He gestured to the deck. "How many?"

"Two," Baki said. He would try to bluff his way through.

"Okay," Ibiki said. He exchanged the cards Baki selected for new ones. "There you go. Now for me. Hmm...I'll take three, I think." He discarded everything but the sixes, and by luck - or bad shuffling - dealt himself two tens and a two. "Well, I'm ready to show my stuff. How about you?"

He raised an eyebrow at Baki.

Baki was sitting on... absolutely nothing. A queen, a seven, a five, a four, and a two. "Sure."

Ibiki laid down his cards for Baki to see, and then snorted at Baki's hand - or lack thereof. "Bluffer. I see I win after all." He gestured lazily and took a drink of chuhai. "Okay, off with the turban. I wanna see what's underneath."

Baki grinned. He untied his forehead protector, setting it aside, then unbound the straps of cloth that made up his turban, removing the half-veil at the same time. He set the mound of cloth aside and let Ibiki get a good look at him. His hair was short and spiky, like Kankuro's and Gaara's hair, and white like Kakashi's. Matching red tattoos covered his left cheek as well.

"Well, I'll be darned," Ibiki murmured. He blinked, leaning forward and taking in Baki's unveiled appearance with interest.

Baki smiled under the scrutiny. "Do I meet your approval?" he teased lightly.

Ibiki flinched and flushed slightly, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry. That wasn't very polite, was it?" He averted his eyes to the table, then looked at Baki again and nodded. "Yes. I'll take you however you come, but I like it. It's very...unique." He realized he wasn't speaking well. "Your appearance, I mean. Distinctive. Is that why you hide it with the turban and the veil?"

Baki nodded. "It doesn't do to stand out on the battlefield, especially in a village where the average person has brown or black hair."

Ibiki nodded in return and remembered to breathe. "Yeah, you got that right. Standing out a little too much is how I got these." He traced the two scars on his face with a fingertip, lightly mimicking the swishing motions that had caused them.

He leaned back and took another drink of blueberry chuhai. "If you're lucky, you're going to get to see more of their handiwork," he said lightly. He gave Baki a grin and took a big bite out of his next rice ball.

Baki took a swig of his chuhai instead. "With the way our collective luck is going, I suspect we'll both be down to our boxers in no time."

Ibiki snorted. "That'll be an interesting sight. Hiding any more sexy tattoos?"

Baki chuckled. "Nope. Sorry." Internally, he was deeply complimented.

Ibiki grinned. "Well, I'm sure it'll be something to see anyway." He dealt them a new hand. "I might even be motivated to try to win. Although, at this point, I'm eager to get it all over with. Undressing in slow motion is not my idea of efficiency." He took a drink of water, mindful that he hadn't touched it yet.

Realizing he hadn't touched his water, either, Baki took a sip. A nice warmth was settling in his stomach, however, and he didn't want to disturb it too much. "In that case..." He took a look at his new hand.

The next few rounds caused a roughly even amount of clothing loss. Baki had to take off his flak jacket, then Ibiki had to discard his uniform jacket, revealing a white shirt underneath. During the next two rounds, Ibiki lost his white shirt, and Baki lost his black one.

When Ibiki lost the following round, they were down to no rice balls and their second round of chuhai. And that was when Baki gestured to Ibiki's bandana. "Okay, I took off my turban, so it's only fair. Off with it."

Ibiki squirmed. "Oh, come on." But he knew better than to think he could actually argue his way out of it, especially with one and a half cans of chuhai inside of him. He pouted and untied his bandana, slipping it off. He ran a hand through his short, dark brown hair, self-conscious of the thin scar that ran up his forehead, verging on his temple, and showed through his hairline, pale and slightly shiny against the dark color of his hair.

"So..." He fidgeted, looked at his empty plate, and nursed his second blueberry chuhai.

Although he'd greatly exaggerated his injuries for the kids during the Chunin Exam, he still felt awkward about the scar he really did have.

Baki stood and stepped up to his chair, running one gentle finger along the scar. "Like I said last night... these don't matter."

"Did you?" Ibiki said vaguely. He didn't remember. Baki's touch was unexpectedly pleasant. He closed his eyes when Baki reached his forehead. It kind of tickled. "I don't remember...but I'm glad you think that. I'd have a pretty hard time if my boyfriend thought I should cover my face."

Well, that sort of thing didn't come out sober. He was definitely a little tipsy by now.

Baki couldn't remember his exact word choice, but he did remember the spirit of what he'd said. "I said that we all have scars, and they don't matter. I think you're handsome." He traced the scar again gently.

Ibiki's breath hitched in an attempt to stifle a snort of laughter from being tickled all over again. "I appreciate it. I - Oh, God, Baki, that tickles. Enough." He shifted, wrapping his arms around Baki's waist and pulling the man down for a kiss.

Baki wrapped his arms around Ibiki's shoulders and met his lips, mouthing them.

Ibiki moaned. Baki's lips were warm, soft, and moist. He couldn't help slipping his tongue into Baki's mouth after gliding his tongue along Baki's lower lip. Baki tasted pleasantly of lemon; it mingled with the blueberry taste that had coated his mouth. He tightened his arms around Baki's waist. All this bare skin was a new experience. _Strip poker might be one of my favorite games_.

It never had been before, but then, it had never given him the courage to actually take his clothes off in front of somebody before. And now it had.

Of course, chuhai helped.

Baki moaned at the feeling of Ibiki's tongue caressing his own, especially with the way their bare skin touched. He cupped the back of Ibiki's head, then captured his tongue in his mouth, sucking on it. He had never imagined he would end up in someone's arms under these circumstances, but he quickly gave himself over to their kiss.

Ibiki shivered and let out a whimper at the feeling of Baki sucking on his tongue. He hadn't expected that move, and he was immobilized by the crackling electricity shooting through him because of it. He couldn't do much more than make noises and hold on to Baki's muscular waist.

_And this is because I took my bandana off?_

Baki continued to suck on Ibiki's tongue, as well as caress and stroke it with his own tongue. Ibiki's whimpers sent shivers through him, making him half-hard. _And this is just a kiss, bare-chested?_ he thought to himself, dazed. He decided they had a considerable amount of chemistry.

Ibiki eventually reclaimed his tongue in order to breathe. He gasped, panting, and stood on shaky legs. "You can't stay bent over me forever. We have to either do what we're doing now comfortably, or play strip poker until - No, screw that. We're going to my bedroom to do this right."

Why would they keep playing strip poker? Ibiki blamed that idea on being tipsy.

Baki had to admit that bending over Ibiki was uncomfortable. "Okay," he agreed easily. He grinned wolfishly. "Although it would have been interesting to see who ended up naked first."

"We can still see that," Ibiki said, deadpan.

He pulled Baki along with him through the living room, to his bedroom. The decor was all subdued blues and warm ivory.

Baki had to chuckle at Ibiki's answer, and he followed willingly, relaxing in a decor that was similar in hues to his own bedroom back home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Ibiki stopped shy of the bed and turned to Baki. "New game: who can last the longest before taking off their underwear." Then he led Baki to the bed and sat down, pulling Baki down with him again. Only this time, they had so many possibilities. He kissed Baki tenderly, slipping his tongue back into Baki's mouth and caressing Baki's tongue with his own. His hand slowly trailed up Baki's shoulder, slipping around to the back of Baki's head. His fingers sifted through that interesting snowy hair.

Baki shivered at the fingers playing with his hair and moaned deeply at the tender way Ibiki caressed his tongue. _He did promise last night that he would always be gentle with me,_ he thought to himself, and apparently it was not a drunken promise. He met the exploring tongue with his own, caressing in return, and ran his arms around Ibiki's muscular waist.

"Mmm." Ibiki liked the feeling of being held. He ended the kiss in order to breathe and shifted against Baki, fitting himself into Baki's arms better. "Yes. I like the feel of that. Hold me tighter, Baki." He hadn't thought he would be so...well...straight-forward.

"Certainly." Baki did as asked, tightening his arms around Ibiki's waist, holding him closer, pressing their chests together.

"Oh..." Ibiki squeezed Baki tighter in return. "Yes." The feeling of someone else's warm, muscular chest pressed against his own was heavenly. It sent shockwaves of warmth through him. "I love you." Ibiki kissed Baki's lips gently, slowing the kiss down and savoring it.

With Ibiki's lips pressed against his, Baki didn't get the chance to reply, but he showed his feelings through the kiss, tenderly mouthing Ibiki's lips, savoring the sweet taste on his lips, and feeling his chest tingle at the way they were pressed together. He'd never dated a man roughly his same size before; it was a new experience being held tightly by someone as strong and solid as he was.

Ibiki moaned and sank down on the mattress, bringing Baki down beside him and snuggling up. "You...are incredible. Really. Amazing." He kissed Baki's chin, and then Baki's jaw. "Is there anything you like? Like really...like." Ibiki studied Baki's handsome, uncovered face while waiting for an answer.

"Thank you," Baki murmured. He paused as he considered the question. There were several spots on him that were sensitive. He leaned his head back, baring his neck to Ibiki. "Well, there is a spot on my neck..."

"Oh." Ibiki considered Baki's offering with a grin. "And you want me to find it?" he teased gently. "I can do that."

Baki returned the grin. "Exactly." He let himself close his eyes.

Ibiki chuckled and lowered a kiss to Baki's neck, starting just under Baki's ear. He kissed and licked that spot gently for a few moments, waiting for the kind of reaction he'd receive. He'd never done anything like this before, but God, he'd wanted to. Baki's neck was warm, and the skin was soft, tender. He moaned softly.

Baki shivered at the soft lips that teased his neck, kissing and lickly so tenderly. Ibiki's soft moan pulled an answering one from him, and he felt himself relaxing into the mattress. Goosebumps traveled down his neck and arm.

_Hmm. Not bad_. Ibiki moved a little lower, kissing and licking his way down Baki's neck. He reached the junction of Baki's neck and shoulder and sucked gently. He moaned, flushing. He was completely hard by now. How many times had he casually joined coworkers in the onsen, secretly entertaining less-than-work-safe thoughts about them? Even if he kept it to himself and never did anything about it, the fact that he had those thoughts at all made him feel a little bit like Jiraiya. Unflattering comparison.

Baki moaned as Ibiki kissed and licked his way down his throat. His nipples hardened with the attention, as well as his erection. More goosebumps raced down his arm from the sucking at the juncture in his neck. "Oh - Ibiki," he gasped. "About an inch upwards, please."

Ibiki let out a small noise, startled by Baki's voice, and complied, marking the spot with a kiss. "Here?"

"Hai," Baki said, his heart rate picking up. He needed Ibiki's lips there, wanted them there.

Ibiki nodded slightly and sucked gently, then ran his tongue over the spot, tasting. A slight tang, sweet and salty, and the warm taste of skin. Ibiki felt himself breathing harder. He tightened his arms around Baki's waist and lost himself in kissing, licking, and sucking this one spot on Baki's neck, content to stay here once he'd found it. There was a kind of pleasure in giving pleasure to others Ibiki had always found addictive. He found subtle ways to make others comfortable, and that made him - in spite of his reputation - a very popular division head. He didn't think he'd command half the loyalty, or have half the efficiency in his division that he did, if he hadn't subtly worked his way into everyone's lives.

Baki moaned in his arms, his erection forming a wet spot on his boxers. Little shivers went down his arm and spine, and warmth cascaded through his chest, keeping his nipples hard. "Ibiki," he moaned, struck by the way the man poured himself into the kissing, licking, and sucking. He squeezed Ibiki tighter in his arms, finding himself panting.

Ibiki moaned in response to the way Baki drew out his name. It sent shivers down his spine. His boxers were very tight and very wet, and he had no interest in stopping what he was doing in order to get them off. All that mattered was making Baki feel as much pleasure as possible. That was his mission. And the way Baki held him wildly turned him on.

Unable to contain himself, Baki rolled onto his back, bringing Ibiki with him and pulling him on top of him. He turned his head to the other side, letting Ibiki focus on the matching spot on the right side of his neck. Deep, soft moans met Ibiki's kisses and licks, and the goosebumps traveled all down his chest. "Biki," he moaned, accidentally dropping the "I." He gasped. "Biki..." He ran one hand up Ibiki's bare spine, leaving the other clutching his waist tightly.

Ibiki was startled by the change in positions, but he didn't want to stop, so he went along with it. He was glad to be presented with the other side. _Baki needs more pleasure,_ he thought vaguely. _Have to cover him up in it_. His breath hitched at the feeling of Baki's large, warm hand traveling up his bare spine. The feeling was electrifying, almost scary. Ibiki clutched Baki tightly and redoubled his efforts. Slowly but surely, he could feel himself speeding up, unable to keep the same slow pace. He licked Baki's neck with growing desperation, his erection pulsing in the confines of his boxers.

At the realization, he forced himself to slow down and kissed Baki's neck gently. Then he paused, panting. "I don't know...what you want...from me."

_What are we doing?_

Baki was panting under him, his mind mostly in a haze. At the question, he tried to focus his gaze on Ibiki's face. After a few moments, he was successful, and he reached up, cupping his cheek in his hand and stroking it with his thumb. "What...I want?" He collected himself. "First of all, I want us to both be comfortable with the speed we're going."

Ibiki leaned into the touch. A rumble emerged from the back of his throat. He closed his eyes and relished the feeling of simple affection. "Speed? We're not doing anything particularly...sex-related, are we? We're just..." He moaned faintly and trailed off, distracted by Baki's thumb stroking his cheek.

He needed a moment to retrace his steps. "Why? Do you want to?"

Baki did his best to string together those words and felt a niggling in the back of his mind. "If you keep kissing me there, I could probably come," he whispered, still stroking Ibiki's cheek. "And that would mean I'd insist on returning the favor. But we haven't even been on a first date yet, so is that too fast for you?" He felt like he was over-explaining. Except he had the feeling he wasn't over-explaining, and if that were true...

"What's a first date matter?" Ibiki asked. "We only have a month." Then he registered what Baki had said. "You mean, you'd get worked up enough to touch yourself. Well..." He felt warmth spread across his cheeks and chuckled, lifting his head to scan Baki's face. "I guess that was the idea, but I didn't expect it would be so successful."

Baki decided that Ibiki hadn't experimented much with foreplay. "Actually, I mean you could make me come without my touching myself. And trust me, I'd find a spot on you so I could return the favor." He paused. "And the amount of time we have together is independent of our comfort and readiness. If _I'm_ going to kiss _your_ neck until you come, I want you to be comfortable and ready."

Ibiki's face pounded. "Oh...um..." He needed a moment to think about it. "You're sure that..." He furrowed his brow. "Never mind. You're sure that this will work as an alternate method of release. Um...I don't know." Then he looked at Baki in concern. "Are you sure? If we fiddle around too much trying different stuff out, I'm not sure how far we'll get in a month."

He admitted, "I guess I wanted to get to important stuff. Like..." He realized he'd just automatically ranked sexual experiences. _Drinking makes me stupid_. "No, I didn't mean it that way. I meant - I'm sorry. This is important. Anything we've never done is important. I just -" There was always a selfish motive in everything, somewhere. Ibiki sighed and forced himself to keep looking Baki in the eye. "I'd just hoped we could have sex together. Without. You know." Not the greatest explanation. Baki couldn't possibly understand 'you know'. 'You know' was not information. It was evasion. Ibiki took a deep breath and tried again. "I wanted to have sex with you, and enough times to get it right, so that what we had was any good."

Baki was now under the impression that Ibiki had tried to have sex with a previous partner before without ever having gotten it to work. He caressed Ibiki's face gently. "Oh, Ibiki. I'm not worried about that at all. I admit there have been a few times in my life where my partner and I had to reposition a few times to get the right angle, but it's always worked in the end. We'll make it work, too. It won't take most of the month. Please don't worry about that." He had half a mind to offer to have sex right then if it would make Ibiki feel better, but they'd only known each other for two days. That was too fast for Baki. He'd prefer to know the man a bit better before that point.

Ibiki's first thought, while Baki was still talking, was: _Angles? There are angles involved? I didn't even think of that!_ But at the end, Ibiki relaxed. He took a calming breath and nodded. "Okay. I trust you, Baki. You're allowed to take your own time; I didn't mean that I wanted to rush you. I just wanted to make sure that you...got everything you wanted, and that I got to experience...what this stuff is like."

_Wait. Back up. This guy is a virgin_. Baki cupped both Ibiki's cheeks in his hands. "You're a virgin." Not a question. "I see. We'll make sure you get to experience whatever you want to experience, and I promise I'll let you make sure I get what I want from the experience, too."

Ibiki flushed and grinned sheepishly. He supposed he could be thankful Baki wasn't angry with him. "I thought we'd cross that bridge when we came to it, not, you know...play strip poker and then get a little into it until we were doing things without..." He trailed off and sighed. "Okay, maybe I'm not as honest as you, and I didn't want to tell you unless I had to, because you'd get all...well, I heard that people don't wanna do it with virgins, and I don't get that, because how I am I supposed to get some if what I've got to offer other people is undesirable?"

Baki shook his head. "I don't mind at all. I think it's stupid to refuse to date someone for being a virgin. In fact, I have enjoyed the few times I've guided virgins through the process simply because I get to experience with them their joy and pleasure for the first time."

Ibiki felt a wave of heat roll through him. "Okay, that's the sexiest thing you possibly could have said to me." He cleared his throat. "Um...wow. I don't know what to say to that, except..." He gave Baki his biggest grin. "Guide me, Sensei."

Baki blushed deeply at that and rolled them again, settling on top of Ibiki. "Well, the first thing to know is that you can actually come from stimulation to an erogenous zone." He took the 'sensei' part very seriously. "Would you like for me to try your neck, too?"

Ibiki tipped his head back and looked at Baki through his eyelashes, simply because that was the only way to see the man from this position. "Go ahead, Sensei." He decided he liked that nickname for Baki. And the man was a sensei, so it wasn't really a nickname...but, either way, he liked it. Especially because it made Baki blush like that.

Baki smiled at his new 'nickname,' still blushing a bit at the way Ibiki had handed himself over to his care. "Okay, then." He remembered the way Ibiki had started right under his ear and got very suspicious. _Instinct about himself?_ He decided to test it out. He dropped a gentle kiss to Ibiki's lips, then kissed along his jaw until he reached the spot just under his ear. He nuzzled the spot, then kissed it gently. Finally, he licked over it longingly.

Ibiki kissed Baki's lips in return, then lay back. When Baki reached a spot under his ear, Baki's breath tickled. He bit his lip.

Then Baki nuzzled it and kissed.

He squirmed and let out a sound like a moan and a wail at the same time. He arched his back at the lick and felt himself grow achingly hard, leaking again. "Arr," he protested incoherently. He'd never felt anything like that before. It felt better than touching himself. Pornographically better.

_Found it_. Baki was instantly hard again, his head buzzing with Ibiki's powerful reaction. He kissed the spot again, lapping at it gently with the tip of his tongue, and then sucked at it tenderly, pouring in his need to bring Ibiki pleasure, too. He moaned at the spot gently, alternating the sucking with the lapping.

Ibiki squirmed, letting out involuntary noises, and clutched Baki desperately, tightening his hands on Baki's muscular back. "Sensei," he wailed. He couldn't do anything else. He felt as though he'd been dunked all the way under in a hot spring, consumed with a delicious burning sensation. "I can't, I can't, I can't!" He had no idea what the hell he was saying. He hoped it was good.

Baki moaned against his neck at the wailed "sensei," not to mention the hands on his bare back. He cupped the back of Ibiki's head, tilting it to bare more of his neck to him. "You can," he reassured him gently. Then he resumed, kissing the spot, licking over it in long, loving motions, sucking on it with abandon, and moaning into Ibiki's ear.

They were both beginning to sweat, and the feeling of their sweaty chests rubbing together made Baki shiver. What was more, their erections were pressed together through their pants, where they could clearly feel each other's hardness.

Ibiki moaned and squirmed underneath Baki, too hot and wet to get away if he'd wanted to, which he didn't.

_The moaning of a sexy man lying on top of me_, Ibiki suddenly realized. _That...is..._

Somehow, the realization that this man wanted to do things with him, and was doing his damnest right now to give him pleasure, skyrocketed through him, pressing a button he didn't think could be touched.

He came hard and suddenly, gasping.

Baki released his neck gently, then kissed across his face. "There, love," he said. "Exactly what I hoped for you."

Ibiki whimpered, unable to respond. He looked at Baki with wide eyes, shivering and warm and limp. He didn't think he could move. His body was as unresponsive as if he'd been hit with a paralyzing jutsu.

The kisses were like warm, soft rain.

"Just let it flow through you," Baki said, taking in the wide eyes. He held Ibiki to him tightly, still pressing tender kisses to his face.

Ibiki relaxed at the continued affection, although his body was so physically relaxed that he was sure he couldn't reflect the emotion. He closed his eyes and let himself drift. This was nice. Anko claimed to get the same feeling from incense and yoga. He had no idea if that were true. Incense made him sneeze, and yoga was boring.

He'd rather have a big, handsome man hugging him after a mind-blowing orgasm any day.

"Mmm, Sensei," he said, the words curling languorously slowly. "You're nice."

Baki chuckled. "So are you, Biki." He dropped a loving kiss on his forehead, then settled atop him, just holding him.

"Hmm..." Ibiki considered that. It took him far more effort than usual to analyze the veracity of that statement.

Then he grinned. "Maybe."

Baki snorted with laughter. "Definitely."

Ibiki chuckled, amused by Baki's amusement. "Hey, Sensei...is this what people do afterwards? Chuckle and hug a lot?"

"It's what I do," Baki said, knowing some people just rolled over and went to sleep. "The snuggling type do."

"Snuggling type." Ibiki repeated the phrase and made sure he remembered it. His arms could move, barely, so they found their way to Baki and encircled Baki protectively. Not that he could do much in this state. "Sounds good. I like that. I wish...we were all the snuggling type."

"Mmm. Me, too," Baki decided.

Ibiki chuckled again. "Come on. Lemme up so I can do the same to you. Someday. When I'm mobile."

"When you're mobile, I will," Baki said. "Let yourself enjoy your orgasm first and get the feeling back into your body."

He had to chuckle.

"So, does it always do this?" Ibiki asked. He noticed he was slurring a little.

"Basically, yes," Baki said. "Orgasms are different than and more powerful than merely climaxing."

"Hnn..." Ibiki breathed for a moment, marveling at how wonderfully rich and sensitive breathing was.

Then, automatically, he tried to start picking apart the experience to understand how it worked. "This magic spot...is it always magic? All the time?"

Baki grinned. "Yep. We could do that again and again and again."

Ibiki did his best to absorb this information. His mind reeled. "Again and again and again?" he mumbled.

"Yep," Baki repeated, dropping a quick kiss to Ibiki's neck.

Ibiki's breath hissed, he breathed in so sharply. "Oh." Electricity snapped through him like a flag caught in the wind. "Sensei. Oh." He didn't know if his heart appreciated that. It had just started to slow down, and now it was racing again. "I don't think...I can handle that. Maybe...in another day or so?"

"Or maybe later today," Baki teased. "Who knows? You might even be able to go twice in a row." He nuzzled Ibiki's neck gently.

Ibiki flushed hotly. "I...don't know..." He felt enormously out of his depth, and now that he was feeling a little less tipsy, and a little more awake, he wasn't sure he liked that. _But that's just a knee-jerk reaction_, he reminded himself. _It has nothing to do with Baki's trustworthiness_.

He wrapped his arms around Baki a little tighter, feeling guilty that he had - as more than one person had pointed out to him - 'control issues'.

Sensing some discomfort from his partner, Baki fixed him with a serious gaze. "We'll never do anything you're uncomfortable with. Like I said before, I want us both to be ready."

"Oh." Ibiki relaxed. "Right." _See?_ he told himself. _I told you there was nothing to be worried about_. He sighed softly and reached up, tracing Baki's cheek and jaw with his fingers. "You're a good guy, Baki."

Baki smiled. "So you keep telling me. I'm glad you think so." He leaned into the gentle touch, his face tingling where Ibiki's fingers had traced.

Ibiki snorted and chuckled. "Yes, well..." He raised his head and kissed Baki's lips gently. "I wouldn't do this to a bad guy, now would I? My job is to catch the bad guy, not kiss him."

Baki laughed. "Well, I don't know about that. You hugged me and kissed me into submission."

Ibiki blushed, letting his head drop back down on the pillow. "I what?"

Baki was grinning. "You hugged and held me right into a confession. I was teasing about the kissing part, although that certainly felt good enough to make me surrender." He was still half-hard from having given Ibiki pleasure, and the memory of their kissing made him a touch harder again.

"Ah..." Ibiki tried to breathe. He could feel himself stirring again, and it was with dismay that he realized Baki was right about his physical capabilities. "Well...you seemed like an honest guy who was probably affection-deprived, and really hardened against interrogation techniques that utilized disapproval or corporal punishment. So I just went the other way with it. I already felt sorry that you probably had no idea the Kazekage had most likely been replaced...so I just used empathy to get through to you. It's what any good interrogator would have done: appeal to your better side."

"Well, Interrogator-san," Baki said, rolling them over so Ibiki was on top. "You asked to have me in your clutches again, so here I am." He grinned. "Now be gentle like you promised," he teased.

Ibiki was surprised, but he couldn't deny that he felt recovered. "Right." He looked down at Baki with a soft expression. "I will." He leaned down and kissed Baki's lips gently, slowly sucking on Baki's lower lip. Then he kissed his way back down to the sweet spot on Baki's neck, moaning softly. "I...am so turned on by this. I'll have you know...I don't get turned on by just anything. But you're beautiful." He sucked on the spot above Baki's shoulder, then licked it. "You're the most beautiful man...I've ever known."

Baki moaned, blushing at both the words and the action. "No one's...ever said that before," he gasped, running his arms around Ibiki's waist tightly.

"What? That you're beautiful? I'm surprised." Ibiki nestled against him, shifting his hips slightly and gently rubbing their half-hard erections together. "You are what you claim to be: honest..." He kissed Baki's neck. "...hardworking..." He licked slowly. "...loyal..." He mouthed that warm, sensitive spot and applied a little suction, watching the spot turn steadily more pink. "...and so, beautiful."

Baki moaned more loudly that time, caught by the way Ibiki rubbed them together and the way he kissed, licked, and sucked on his neck. His hips involuntarily pressed up against Ibiki's, rubbing in return and leaving him incredibly hard. "Ah...Biki..."

Ibiki smiled, pleased at the reaction he got. "Yes, Sensei?" He licked Baki's neck with long, lapping strokes, savoring, and then circled the sweet spot with his tongue. At the same time, he teasingly shifted his hips against Baki's again, trying to rub Baki just the right way. He kissed and sucked. "What is it?"

Baki was leaking helplessly, his hips still shifting against Ibiki's. "That feels...so good." The final word morphed into a moan, and his neck tingled, goosebumps running down his arm and across his chest, leaving his nipples hard.

"Good, good," Ibiki said, drawing out the word. "I'm happy to hear that." He sucked on Baki's neck longingly, mouthing and licking. He wanted to hear the same kind of helpless noises of arousal that Baki had produced in him.

Baki moaned underneath him, crying out as Ibiki hit just the right spot in the way their hips moved. His boxers were soaked through completely, and the attention to his neck left him panting. He bared his neck further to Ibiki's mouth and moaned deeply again as Ibiki sucked on the spot. Ibiki's weight on him felt good, too, and he experienced a flash of a fantasy of being pinned down later.

Even the thought in conjunction with all the other sensations made him cry out again.

Ibiki let out an uncertain moan, surprised that he could, after all, elicit this response from someone. A part of him had thought it would be impossible to make Baki feel as good as the man made him feel. He sank into his task completely, fuelled by his success. He kept shifting his hips, encouraging Baki to do the same, and cherished the spot on Baki's neck in every way he could think of. He licked it, memorizing the feeling and the taste. He kissed, both gently and passionately. He sucked on that spot slowly, deeply, running his tongue along warm, wet skin at the same time.

Baki let out a choked moan, whimpering at the ministrations, both gentle and passionate. His hips shifted against Ibiki's with more desperation, and he cried out as the friction built. He'd broken a sweat, and the feeling of their naked chests sliding slightly with their movements made his nipples tingle and burn. "Biki!" It was more than he could take. He felt the pressure spike suddenly, and then his hips jerked hard as he came.

He collapsed bonelessly under Ibiki, still panting.

Ibiki stopped, flushed. His heart was beating and his nipples were hard and his chest was filled with this soaring feeling. Exhilaration. He identified the right word absently. "Baki? Are you alright?" he asked softly.

Baki nodded his head very slowly. He felt as though he were floating, and if he nodded too quickly, his head might float away. He grinned, struck by sudden amusement at his own thoughts.

Ibiki smiled with relief and hugged Baki gently. He shifted to one side and snuggled against his boyfriend. _His boyfriend_. It suddenly hit home. "Oh, Baki." He hugged Baki tightly and kissed the Baki's cheek, nuzzling. He noticed the tattoos again - those two swooping, red marks, and kissed them, one kiss for each mark. "You're so wonderful for me."

Baki's cheek tingled from the kisses. "I hope so," he whispered, still smiling. He couldn't quite move yet to hug back, although thanks to the way Ibiki had shifted, his right arm was still limply hanging over Ibiki's waist.

"I know so," Ibiki whispered back. "Baki, you're wonderful for everyone." Such assurances came easily, thanks to a combination of this kind of floating adoration, Baki's consideration towards him, and the knowledge that Baki was a good man.

Baki blushed happily at that thought. With superhuman effort, he managed to tighten his arm around Ibiki's waist. "Well, you're obviously good for me, the way you've been taking care of me."

"I want to." Ibiki reached up and stroked Baki's hair, tracing Baki's hairline around to the man's temple, brushing gentle fingers over Baki's ear. He wanted to memorize everything before this was over. Feel everything, touch everything. Imprint every line of Baki's body on his memory. This was only going to happen once, after all.

Baki shivered at the touch, his scalp and ear tingling.

Ibiki paused, smiling ruefully. "Sorry. Is that too much?"

Baki chuckled breathlessly. "Probably. Unless we're both up for a second round. But it would feel nice...if you just stroked my hair."

Ibiki nodded and gently complied, running his fingers through Baki's short, snowy hair. "I'll do that."

Baki's scalp tingled, but in a good, relaxing way. "Feels good," he murmured. He found more strength with which to hug Ibiki to him.

Ibiki hugged Baki closer in return. "I love you." He rested his head against Baki's shoulder. Resting his head against someone's shoulder was a luxury he hadn't had in a long time.

"Love you, too," Baki replied, leaning his cheek against Ibiki's forehead.

Ibiki stroked Baki's hair in silence for a few moments. Then he started to feel exactly how coated in sweat and...stuff, he was. "I think we're going to take a shower just as soon as you can walk."

Baki chuckled. "Sounds like a great idea." He did feel pretty sticky from the mess they'd made of each other.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

The following morning, Baki looked at Ibiki over breakfast, which consisted of an omelet, rice balls, and fish, and quirked him a smile. "So. I should check this morning and see if Kabuto has 'ordered' me to meet up with him."

Ibiki hadn't wanted to bring the topic up on his own. He was trying to be as gentle with Baki as possible. As gentle as his job would allow. He was relieved that Baki had chosen to speak before the time limit Ibiki had mentally imposed ran out. He gave Baki a slight smile in response. "Yes. I think that would be best."

He ate a bite of fish, and then a rice ball. "I'll cover you, of course, with a backup team. We'll be hidden as inconspicuously as possible, in case you're being watched by an agent of Sound."

Baki nodded. "I figured as much." He paused, taking a bite of fish as well. "The spot I'm checking is just beyond the outskirts of the village. It'll be a quick affair. Either the signal is there or it's not. If it is, then we'll be meeting at 8:00 this evening. You'll have plenty of time to prepare a force to capture Kabuto."

Ibiki took this in and deliberately took a slow, deep breath to quell the jolt of got-to-get-this-done adrenaline. He had no way of knowing if it was action time or not. Either way, it didn't do to become excited. "Thank you," he said softly. "For telling me."

Baki inclined his head. Given that his sensei had died because of these people, he was every bit as anxious to capture Kabuto as Ibiki was. "Unless otherwise specified, our meeting place is a clearing just beyond the Forrest of Death. There're plenty of trees for your men to hide in, but be extra careful. Kabuto has an ingrained sense of impending danger. The slightest wrong move and he'll bolt."

Ibiki nodded, grimacing wryly. "I hear that." He reflected on Kakashi's encounter with the man. "It's probably an advanced sensing ability. He is a med nin." Medical ninjas often went through training to heighten their senses. Reaction time was critical. The faster a med nin reacted to an emergency, the more lives he or she could save. Anticipating through minute signals could mean the difference between having supplies on hand and being caught unprepared.

Med nins were not supposed to fight, definitely not supposed to defect. Ibiki could only think of a handful in Konoha's history, and most of those had been genin. Of course, Kabuto was, too, but only in rank.

In reality, the frustrating little weasel was a special jonin level opponent.

Baki nodded. "Probably. It makes sense, anyway."

Ibiki strove to finish his breakfast in a timely manner instead of eating on-the-go style. Everyone at work was aware of the startling efficiency with which he could eat if he had to. But this was not one of those times, he reminded himself. _Calm. Cool. Collected. We're going to get the guy no matter what_. He had a personal grudge, though, against the guy, that went deeper than anything he'd ever told anyone.

After breakfast, Ibiki gathered a team, and they headed to the spot in question, which was an old tree that had been split by lightning. Ibiki hid his team among the trees, and Baki reached inside the tree, checking for the signal. His fingers touched smooth but pointed wood, and he pulled a wooden carving of a hawk out of the tree trunk. That was The Signal. Kabuto had called a meeting for that night. Baki replaced the hawk upside down to show he'd received the message, then took to the trees in a run, heading back to the village. He knew Ibiki and his team would be following.

Ibiki was so excited he had to do a meditation exercise to clear his head in order to maintain his chakra masking. _This is it!_ His mind was whirring with plans. He had to get to the office.

Baki stopped on a roof halfway to T&I and let Ibiki catch up with him. "As you saw, I got the signal. Am I supposed to shadow you today until 8:00?"

Ibiki nodded. "You're coming with me to the office. I'm going to make you part of my interrogation. Liars find it harder to lie when someone who knows the truth is staring them in the face."

"Ah. Understandable." Baki nodded once in agreement. "Alright, I'm all yours." He grinned at the final part.

Ibiki grinned and flushed slightly. "Hey," he teased. "Not here. Wait 'til we're home." He tapped Baki on the shoulder and gestured. His backup team came out of hiding and mass teleported them to the third floor of T&I. It was gray and utilitarian, the floor of the hallway nothing more than polished concrete.

On the left was a bank of large glass windows, all in a row. On the other side of those windows was a large, barren room.

"This is one of our interrogation chambers," Ibiki said. "For the really nasty guys." He gave a signal to the team that they knew meant to report the news of what was going on.

The four man team saluted and then departed.

"This is where we're going to be keeping Kabuto," Ibiki said with satisfaction. "Hopefully, for the rest of his miserable life."

"Oh?" Baki said. "You mean he'll live a short life, then?" He raised his eyebrows.

Ibiki grinned. "No. Not necessarily." He turned away from the windows and walked down the hall, reasonably expecting Baki to follow him.

Baki did, in fact, follow him, curious.

Ibiki explained, "My office is down this way. You're going to be meeting some of my co-workers today. They'll brief you on the basics. Make you part of the team on this case. I've already informed them of your level of cooperation and status as a witness. Not all witnesses get to work this intensively with a T&I team, but you're strong."

"Thank you," Baki said. "I appreciate your faith in me." He had never imagined he'd end up working hand-in-hand with Konoha's T&I, of all things. "Needless to say, I want justice for my sensei, my Kazekage." _My friend._

Ibiki nodded. "I know you do. And we'll get it."

Down a bleak, featureless hallway with no doors, and then a left turn, brought them to an ordinary office hallway with walls painted white, wood molding around the doorways, and typical metal office doors with round, chrome doorknobs.

Plaques by the doors indicated what the rooms were. They passed Conference Room 2 and Conference Room 1, as well as Break Room, Janitor, and a couple offices belonging to random people, as well as Kitchen, before getting to the office labeled Director.

"Prepare yourself," Ibiki said wryly, pausing with his hand on the doorknob.

Baki raised one eyebrow, wondering what he was preparing himself for. "You got it." He braced himself.

Ibiki grinned and turned the doorknob, pushing open the door. "Surprise," he said.

His office was large and had plain white walls, except for a large map on the left-hand wall. On the right side of the room was a large desk facing the map, with a black office chair behind it. A young woman sat on the edge of the desk with one leg crossed over the other. She wore a mesh shirt with a spandex suit and a miniskirt, and was nestled comfortably inside an oversized trench coat.

She grinned and turned to the man standing by the side of the desk. The man's head was wrapped in bandages all the way down to the end of his nose, which was wear a ninja's mask usually began. Aside from the mummy look, he wore a standard issue slate blue uniform.

"Look!" she said. "It's Biki!"

How a man whose eyes were blindfolded by bandages could 'Look' seemed beyond the estimation of common sense.

The man just nodded. "I can see that. Hi, Captain."

_He can see that?_ Baki wondered just what the man's jutsu was and why he would cover the top of his head. Then again, people wondered by Baki covered half his face when he wasn't hiding an injury. Shinobi were quirky that way.

"Hi, yourself," Ibiki said, stepping around Baki and closing the door. He stood and crossed his arms. "This is Anko, and Tonbo. They'll be helping you and me get the badguy."

Anko hopped off the desk and walked over to them, admirably controlling herself in front of the visitor. She tilted her head, examining Baki curiously. "He's a handsome one."

"Please direct your comments to him instead of me," Ibiki said wryly. "He can speak."

Baki inclined his head to her. "Thank you," he said simply. "I'm Baki."

Anko grinned. "You're cute. What's the veil for?"

Ibiki cleared his throat. "You don't have to answer that."

_That's direct,_ Baki thought. "It is private," he murmured.

"Oooh..." Anko thought about that. "A privacy curtain. I gotta get me one of them. My face needs more privacy." She gave him a purposefully goofy grin and then turned away, rejoining Tonbo. She gestured to him. "So, this is the guy who can ready your thoughts and see right through you. Without his bandages, he'll burn you up. He's got laser vision! Sort of."

"Her description is not at all accurate," Tonbo said wryly.

Given he'd nearly frozen at the description, Baki was grateful it was wrong. Then again, if he really thought his mind was being read, he was likely to assault the telepath with uncomfortable images. Maybe of Ibiki and he making out...

"My clan has fractal vision," Tonbo said. "By blindfolding myself, I can concentrate the sight to straight ahead of me, and both sides, mimicking normal vision. Otherwise, the world is overwhelming. It is not in any way, shape, or form... 'laser vision'."

Anko looked disappointed. "That would be so much cooler," she protested.

"You never asked about my kekkai genkai," Tonbo said. "If you had, you would be less disappointed."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Never mind," Ibiki said. "The important thing is, Baki is going to help us today, so while I'm issuing reports, I expect you guys to give him the rundown on how this works."

Baki nodded.

Anko saluted. "Hai, Captain!"

"I'll do my best," Tonbo said.

Ibiki sat down at his desk, settling into his comfortable office chair. He kept his head down and worked on filling out the appropriate forms to get what he wanted; requests for the right to hold Kabuto under his jurisdiction, the rights to an interrogation including Baki, and various orders on how to prepare the room.

"So what do you want to know?" Anko asked Baki.

"I think he wants to know the procedure," Tonbo said dryly. "The procedure is as follows: you will accompany the Captain into the room, but you will be asked to wear a device; this is a listening device that allows us to hear what you are saying on the other side of the glass. Many of us will be on the other side of the one way reinforced glass, taking notes and listening in on the interrogation. The room is soundproof, so listening devices on your person are necessary."

"I see." Baki had no issue with that. "Very well."

Tonbo nodded. "You will have to sign a form of consent to the effect that we are allowed to place devices on your person for that purpose. I'm sure the Captain will have that form ready in due time. You will also sign a release stating that everything you say can be used in cross-investigations."

"A cross-investigation release form is so we can use any good things you say to fight crime in other cases," Anko said brightly.

"Although it's optional," Ibiki called. "Don't let his 'you have to' talk get to you."

"So fair-minded, Captain," Tonbo said.

Baki couldn't see any harm in that. "I think that's fine."

After all, he had nothing to hide.

Ibiki smiled and went back to his paperwork.

Anko added, gesturing broadly, "And you'll get to beat him up! Don't forget that part."

Tonbo smirked. "Physical interrogation methods are sometimes needed. If signaled by the Captain, you will be allowed to monitor and participate in alternate interrogation methods."

Ibiki pretended not to hear that.

Anko clenched her hands into fists and waved them, mock-attacking. "Biki wants to beat this guy up! Didn't you, Biki?"

"Hmm?" Ibiki kept writing on the form he was on.

He felt less than comfortable discussing his violent urges unless he was in the moment and actually having them.

Baki chuckled. "Does he, now?" And then it struck him that Kabuto may have been present when his sensei died. His eyes narrowed. "I think I can go in for that."

Tonbo chuckled. "A healthy sense of violence goes a long way in this life." He took a cigarette out of his pocket, and a lighter.

"Don't smoke in my office," Ibiki said without looking up.

"And I'm supposed to have 360 vision," Tonbo joked, putting his cigarette and his lighter back in his pocket.

"I just know you," Ibiki said. "There's a difference. Your vision is physical. Mine is psychological."

"Touché." Tonbo nodded. He said to Baki, "No one's better at reading people than the Captain."

Ibiki grunted. He hated compliments.

Baki had to laugh.

Anko beamed at him. "I like you. I wish we could keep you." She looked to Ibiki. "Why can't we keep him?"

"Because he's got responsibilities, Anko."

"But why?"

"Responsibilities."

"They often butt heads over responsibilities and wants," Tonbo explained. "Anko and the Captain are a classic pair of opposing forces in the workplace."

"I don't think Baki needs to know that," Ibiki said calmly.

"I just want what's best for you," Anko said, propping her hands on her hips. "I know you like him. You need more friends."

"I've got friends."

"As you can see, neither is willing to give up their side," Tonbo said.

"Are you going to stand here and narrate my life, or are you going to go to work?" Ibiki asked.

Tonbo bowed. "As you wish, Captain." He headed to the door and waved at Baki. "See you later, Baki-san." One could have sworn he winked, although his eyes weren't visible. He shut the door behind him.

Baki was much amused.

"Well, one should balance wants and needs," Baki ventured. "And your captain and I are definitely friends." _And more,_ he thought with a sly smile. "So for 30 days-well, 28 now I suppose-we can hang out." _And do other things._

The reminder that he only had 28 days, though, stole his smile.

Anko turned to him with wide, sad eyes. "But that's not enough," she wailed.

"Enough," Ibiki chastised, unconsciously repeating the last word she'd said.

"But it's not right." Anko doused the whole room in puppy-eye looks.

"It is right, and it is fair, and it is normal," Ibiki said. "Now stop going on about it. Baki has his life and I have mine. Or lives overlap for this set time period, and then we both will be expected to go back to work in our respective nations."

He was mildly worried. Once Anko sank her teeth in, she was almost impossible to shake off.

Baki was inclined to agree with Anko emotionally and Ibiki intellectually. "I have kids to take care of," he said quietly. "They need me."

"Kids?" Anko perked up. "Little or big?"

"His team," Ibiki said. "That's his name for them. He's also adopting them, since the crisis has robbed them of their remaining parent in this world aside from Baki's care."

"Oh," Anko said in a tiny voice. "That's really sweet."

Baki inclined his head to her.

Ibiki gritted his teeth. He just knew that Anko was getting attached. He hated her attachment issues. Namely, that she became attached quickly and then proceeded to unload affection onto said person until they were buried under a mountain of gooey pink love mush.

He jotted down the last thing he needed for his forms to the Hokage's office and thrust them at her. "Deliver these."

Anko walked over and snatched them out of his hand with a scowl. "Okay. But I'm coming back."

"If you didn't come back, I'd need to send out an APB on you," Ibiki retorted.

Anko teleported out without a reply.

He knew that was bad.

Ibiki, left alone in a white office with only one other person, soon caved under the amount of brightly lit silence. "She disapproves."

"Disapproves?" Baki echoed. "Of what, precisely?"

"You going home," Ibiki said. "Or me staying here, theoretically." He furrowed his brow, worried. "When Anko disapproves of things, bad things happen."

"Oh." Baki didn't quite know what to make of that. "Nosey, is she? A meddler?" He grinned. "Are we in trouble now?"

Ibiki gave him a weak smile. "Anko is my best friend from within the department. And she is beyond nosey. She makes meddlers look polite. We are in vast amounts of trouble. She's going to do something to keep us together." He traced the grain of his desk without looking at it. "The question now is what. And can I defeat it so that we both have normal lives."

Baki tilted his head. "Normal lives, ne?" His life was already never going to be the same again. He realized that having a partner for the upcoming adventure of being a parent would perhaps be a good thing. Maybe it wasn't in his best interests to help stop Anko.

_Ah, pipe dreams,_ Baki thought, internally kicking himself.

"Well, you're the master of psychology here," Baki found himself saying neutrally.

Ibiki looked up from his desk and examined Baki carefully. "Oh." Not even a veil could cover a micro-expression - a flitting, passing twitch that happened when one tried to suppress an emotional response and keep it off one's face.

Baki would have to wrap his entire head in bandages.

"I know the feelings of regret can be monumental..." Ibiki hesitated. "But I would assume there is a status quo in your life you would like to get back to. And disrupting that by having a long distance relationship marked by infrequent, difficult-to-arrange visits would only be stressful."

"Of course," Baki said reasonably. If Ibiki didn't want more, then Baki would never let on in a billion years. His entire approach was to match Ibiki's responses. He didn't want to end up with one of those speeches in 28 days: 'We agreed to do it this way, and we knew it would end this way. I'm ready to move on, so why aren't you?' No, sir. If all Ibiki offered at the end was a handshake, then no matter what Baki was feeling, he'd shake his hand and walk away. He'd never reveal anything more.

_Oh, god_. Ibiki sighed. This was his worst nightmare. He'd been told over and over again his sentimentalism would drag him down. He'd become the most fair-minded, orthodox, and rational person he could in response to that criticism. He wanted to survive. Everyone wanted to survive, but he'd always thought he had a little extra drive. Maybe it was just his personality.

And alone, he'd managed fairly well. Sure, Anko had crept in, and now Tonbo thought they were 'friends', or something - probably Anko's fault - but he'd been doing well.

And now, there was this guy, and he was having a weak moment. _Midlife crisis._ He didn't believe in those things, except that, well, they happened. For some reason, people hit thirty and just exploded. He was a little early, but still, the signs were there. Confessing his love, for instance. When had that happened?

'Never having felt like this before'? That was a definite sign. A wish for something more? Oh, yeah. He was doomed.

"Life satisfaction is important for a healthy, stable routine," Ibiki said. "A routine cannot develop without a level of satisfaction in what one is doing. I know it's hard, and it seems like satisfaction is out of the question, but you're in a time of turmoil right now." _I'm scared_. No use denying it. _Damn it, Anko._ She was a darling, but she frequently upset his house of cards.

"When you get back to your country, you need stability," Ibiki said. "I am not 'stable'. I am a very bad choice for you, long-term."

"As you say," Baki said, keeping his reasonable tone. _He can sense I'm having more serious thoughts, and he's trying to drive common sense into me. I better listen up here, or I'm going to end up heartbroken._ "We have 28 days. We'll just make the most of them."

Ibiki gestured with his pen. "You're not convinced at all," he pointed out.

Baki sighed. "I won't drag you down. I have my pride to consider." He walked over to the oversized map, staring at Suna. "I said 28 days, so I'll give you the best 28 days ever. And then I'll go home. Don't worry."

Ouch. Ibiki winced. "You are not dragging me down," he said gently. "Baki, I believe you may have missed the point I have been trying to tell you. I won't drag you down. I love you. I would never want you to be stuck in a place where you're always wondering if the person you depend on, the person you love, is going to survive the next three months so he can come visit you. Long distance relationships exist, and they test the heart in horrible ways. I would not want to subject you to that kind of torture. It would be selfishness to ask you to wait for me again, and again, as I put work first because that's the way my life has always been structured. I don't know how to restructure...and that would leave you second best. You aren't second best, Baki. You're first best."

He took a deep breath, realizing how miserable this made him. "You deserve someone wonderful. Not someone like me. Someone available. Not...away somewhere in an office. Catching badguys or not, the work isn't worth your sacrifice."

Baki turned back to face him, eyes wide. _Oh_. For a moment, he was speechless.

Ibiki looked at him sadly. "I want you to go home and be happy. Not be stuck somewhere between here and home emotionally, waiting for me to meet you in the middle. It's just not fair."

Since Baki had no words for that, he crossed the room, cupped Ibiki's chin in his hand, and lifted his face. He pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, then mouthed them tenderly. Only when he pulled back did he find any words to speak. "That you care that much about my emotional well-being makes your heart first best."

Ibiki wanted to cry. Particularly because that kiss was so sweet. "Then I wish you could take my heart and leave the rest of me."

Baki was rather afraid that was exactly what was going to happen. He leaned in and pressed another gentle kiss to Ibiki's lips. "I can't steal your heart." _I think I want this Anko to interfere. Maybe she can come up with a solution to this we aren't seeing._ "I'll just have to love you the best I can in the time I have."

Ibiki reached out and took Baki's hand, squeezing it. "Please don't be concerned for me. This is about me helping you heal enough to leave here without permanent scars."

"Now you ask me the impossible." Baki squeezed Ibiki's hand in return.

"Healing is possible," Ibiki protested.

"That I can accept," Baki said. "It's the not being concerned for you that I can't do."

Baki's words hit him with a rush of disbelief. Ibiki flushed, his cheeks growing warm. He wasn't sure what to say to that.

Baki cupped both Ibiki's cheeks in his hands. "Is that so surprising?" He kissed Ibiki's forehead. "It shouldn't be; you're that concerned about me." He kissed the bridge of his nose. "Or do you think I don't love you back?" He caught Ibiki's lips squarely, mouthing them slowly, gently, thoroughly.

Ibiki moaned and mouthed Baki's lips in response, overwhelmed and embarrassed that such a thing - such a romantic thing - was happening in his office. His office was supposed to be a sterile space where all feelings were left behind. This couldn't be happening here. A tiny voice in his head wanted Baki to stop. The rest of him grabbed the front of Baki's vest desperately and pulled Baki down, all but forcing the man to sit on his desk.

Baki sat on the edge of the desk as directed, slipping his arms around Ibiki as he did. He sucked on Ibiki's lower lip for several moments, then ran his tongue over the seam of Ibiki's upper lip, asking permission to enter.

Ibiki gasped and whimpered, shaking at the sheer crash of electricity through him. He clung to Baki's waist and opened his mouth, gently accepting Baki's tongue and sucking on it, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. _You can't leave you can't leave you can't_. Once Ibiki heard that voice, he knew he was in trouble. Some impulses he had no idea how to curb, that that voice belonged to one of them.

He moaned and half-rose, trying to bring them to the same level instead of having Baki kiss down to him. Instead, somehow, he ended up pulling Baki down the rest of the way onto his lap. Good thing it was a sturdy office chair. Chairs were not built for two grown men to occupy at the same time.

He felt the chair wheels dig into the mat.

Baki moaned at Ibiki's sucking on his tongue, at the sound of his whimper, and at the way he got pulled onto his lap. _Oh, god_. He abandoned himself to their kiss, feeling himself harden, and caressed Ibiki's tongue with his own. He hugged him closer, memorizing the feeling of their tongues rubbing together.

Ibiki groaned and shifted. He felt himself getting hard and didn't know what to do. He couldn't stop; yet they were technically in a public place where anyone could walk in with a status report. He hugged Baki tightly and caressed Baki's tongue with his own, drinking in the sensations with desperation. _It's not enough. It will never be enough unless there's a lifetime of this. _

Anko was so getting in trouble.

Baki was also aware they were in a public place and was hoping no one walked in on them. Half of him didn't care, but the half that did finally broke the kiss, panting to catch his breath. "You. Me. Tonight. Your bed," he gasped out.

Ibiki was startled. His nerves jangled with distress, and he looked at Baki with blank shock for a moment. "Yes. Yes." He let go of Baki and helped him up.

He stood up as well, though he hardly knew why. "Sorry."

"My fault," Baki said. He was very hot; he'd broken a sweat. "I started it." He fanned himself with his hand for a moment. "We'll pick up right where we left off."

Ibiki took a deep breath. "It's that easy, ne?"

He thought for a moment. Considering their encounters so far, it might be. _Who would have thought I was so highly sexed?_ He'd read theories about repression, but he'd never believed that stuff. He'd called it 'garbage'. People did not become hidden sex maniacs. But...now the idea made him actively uneasy. _How could I have allowed myself to break all of my self-imposed barriers and let this kind of thing happen in my office?_

Baki sensed Ibiki's discomfort and squeezed his shoulder.

Ibiki was jolted out of his thoughts. Gratefully. He hugged Baki in response and rocked him gently. "It's alright. It'll be alright." He was doing it just as much for himself.

Baki hugged him back, rocking with him. "Hai," he whispered. "It'll be alright."

Ibiki rubbed his back. "I'm fine." He hadn't been fine a moment ago, but he felt better now. For a moment, he'd felt a spike of blind panic. At the thought of his safety bubble - this office - being breached. But this hadn't been a breach. It was just something that happened. Baki was safe. He was safe. Nothing was let in.

Baki nodded. "Me, too." He leaned back, catching Ibiki's gaze. "Let's just focus on catching Kabuto for now, ne?"

Ibiki swallowed and nodded. "Hai."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

The time passed quickly. Baki signed paperwork, Ibiki got forms approved by Sandaime, and he informed the people he'd chosen for his team and given them time to assemble and get a briefing. On the T&I side of things, he was taking Shimon, Tonbo, Inoichi, and himself. There were also going to be no less than four ANBU teams for backup power.

They'd eaten lunch, and eaten dinner, lunch from the cafeteria and dinner from takeout menus.

Then, it was time.

Ibiki stood and flexed his hands, feeling the way his heart wanted to speed up. He kept his breaths steady. "Alright. Let's go."

Baki led them to the rendezvous. Ibiki's team trailed after, as far behind as they could get without losing sight of him. The ANBU teams were in turn trailing Ibiki's team from a distance.

Ibiki couldn't sense them in any way; he just knew they were there because they were supposed to be.

Baki headed to through the trees to the set location, adopting his usual no-nonsense demeanor and fast-paced walk.

Sure enough, when he arrived, Kabuto was waiting there, dressed in his usual white and purple outfit and wearing that odd smile of his.

Baki bowed. "Konbanwa, Kabuto-san."

Kabuto bowed in return. "Konbanwa." He straightened and adjusted his glasses. "So, everything is according to plan."

Baki nodded. "The scrolls have been given to those doing the summoning ceremony; Gaara is prepared to transform."

Kabuto looked out across the trees.

Ibiki was glad everyone was professional enough to know that this didn't mean Kabuto had somehow miraculously detected them. No one moved a muscle. Not a flicker of chakra was released.

"Soon, the Leaf will be no more, ne?" Kabuto mused. "Well...everything has an expiration date." He shrugged and turned back to Baki. "You have done your job well, Baki of the Sand. The Sound will uphold its part of the agreement. While you are keeping everyone busy with your team, the Sound Four will be moving in on the position of the Hokage. Yondaime-sama is going to have a clean playing field."

He chuckled. "It should be quite a battle. I regret that I cannot be there."

Ibiki received the signal from ANBU._ Finally._ He understood ANBU's desire to let Kabuto talk, but he was doing an interrogation. They didn't need to put Baki in unnecessary danger. He gave the signal to Shimon.

Shimon dropped out of his hiding place in the trees and placed his hands on his temples, sending out a pulse of chakra as he performed his jutsu.

Kabuto turned on his heel and froze.

Shimon's kekkai genkai was being able to freeze someone completely, down to their ability to think and speak. The tradeoff was, for as long as the person was conscious, Shimon was locked in an identical state.

"We've got him!" Ibiki snapped. "Let's go."

Tonbo flew into action, ripping off the bandages over his eyes and landing in front of Kabuto. A flash of red light, and then Kabuto was on the ground. Tonbo stood calmly wrapping up his head again. Once he was done, he signaled that it was safe to approach.

His jutsu matched Shimon's well. One thing he could do with his kekkai genkai was knock someone unconscious with a single glance.

Inoichi dropped out of the trees ahead of Ibiki and knelt by Kabuto, checking the fugitive. "He's unconscious."

Ibiki walked over to Baki a placed a hand on Baki's shoulder. "Good job. It's a perfect catch."

Baki gave him half a smile. "Thank you. I admit, it took all my stoicism to listen to him say 'Yondaime will have a clear playing field' and not react. Rat bastard." He sighed.

Ibiki squeezed Baki's shoulder. "I know." He gestured to the others. "Let's go. Let's get Kabuto into containment."

"Hai, Taichou." Tonbo nodded. On the battlefield, he was all business.

The team gathered around, and with Ibiki and Baki, they teleported into the interrogation room they had waiting.

Shimon and Tonbo didn't even pause at the disorientation of suddenly changing locations. They dragged Kabuto to the inclined table in the middle of the room and restrained Kabuto to it, using built-in metal bands. Two for each arm and each leg, and two large metal bands for the torso area.

"Usually, we don't use this thing," Ibiki said. "It's a little barbaric. But for him..." He gazed at Kabuto's unconscious face without sympathy.

"It's necessary," Inoichi finished. He saluted. "Well, my job is done. You just needed me to testify whether Kabuto was incapacitated or not."

Ibiki nodded. "You may go. Thank you for the help."

"No problem."

Inoichi walked to the door and let himself out. The door locked behind him.

Ibiki folded his arms across his chest and chewed the inside of his lower lip, trying not to be obvious about it. "Now, we wait."

Baki nodded. He didn't know how the jutsu worked, so he had no idea how long it would take Kabuto to awaken.

Tonbo took in Baki's expression - somehow - and grinned. "It'll only be a few minutes. Shimon's jutsu doesn't last that long. If we had to wait half the night, the Taichou would just punch Kabuto in the face. Isn't that right, Captain?"

Ibiki grunted noncommittally.

Tonbo chuckled.

"My jutsu?" Shimon flicked an imaginary speck of dust off his sleeve. "You're the one that knocked him out."

"But you're the one that froze him so he can't even speak," Tonbo said.

"Boys," Ibiki said.

They silenced their building argument.

Baki smiled to himself.

Kabuto came around with a groan five minutes later. He looked around with a comical level of confusion.

"Hi," Ibiki said.

Kabuto flinched, his eyes going wide at the sight of the head interrogator.

"You didn't think I was gonna catch you, did you?" Ibiki said.

Kabuto shook his head. "No, I did not."

"Well, here you are," Ibiki said. "The world is still full of things you didn't expect."

Kabuto suddenly looked weary. "Can we just get this over with?"

Ibiki turned to Baki. "Depends on what this man wants for you."

Baki gave Kabuto a very unpleasant smile. "My sensei and kage is dead. I'm not feeling overly merciful."

"Dead?" Kabuto protested.

"Game's up," Ibiki said. "I told him everything." He smirked, himself. "Including how you killed his Kazekage."

"That was Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said, looking from one to the other.

"Oh, you helped," Ibiki said. "Don't deny it. I wouldn't believe you if you did. So you're stuck with that part of the story."

"How could I help kill someone with a gold dust jutsu?" Kabuto pleaded. "Do you know how outclassed I am?"

"His bodyguards didn't outclass you, though," Ibiki said.

"What does a man like that need bodyguards for?" Kabuto scoffed. "He's invincible all by himself."

"Those bodyguards were also my friends," Baki snapped.

"I didn't know that. How tragic," Kabuto said.

If Ibiki hadn't known that everything Kabuto said was insincere, he would have believed the man.

Baki resisted the urge to punch him in the face. Barely.

Ibiki glanced at him. "Go ahead."

A fake smile sprang to Baki's lips; he raised his fist and punched Kabuto with a heavy blow.

Kabuto's glasses smashed and flew off, the frames clattering to the floor without any lenses in them. Kabuto winced, and Ibiki was pretty sure the man's nose was broken. It was also leaking blood down his lips and chin.

"Thank you for your heartfelt condolences," Baki said snidely.

Kabuto blew blood from his lips and retorted, "Your friends chose a dangerous profession. If it wasn't me, it would have been someone else." His voice was slightly distorted by the broken nose.

Baki was ready to strangle him.

"That also explains why you're here," Ibiki said. "If it hadn't been you who was Orochimaru's right hand man, someone else would have been here."

Kabuto struggled against the metal bands for the first time, squirming uncomfortably. He couldn't manage much. "I haven't done anything wrong, you know. This is a revolution. Revolutions happen. It's a fact of life, Taichou."

"Says the traitor against the Leaf." Baki smirked.

"Well, you're a traitor against the Sand," Kabuto shot back.

"A man's not a traitor if he doesn't know his leader is dead," Ibiki said.

Baki crossed his arms. "Exactly."

Kabuto narrowed his eyes at Baki. "So I suppose you think the invasion is off now."

"Oh, I assume Sound will go right ahead," Baki said. "But I'll make sure Sand isn't part of it."

"How, exactly, will you do that?" Kabuto asked.

"This is an interrogation, not a discussion," Ibiki said. He sounded bored.

Shimon and Tonbo still hadn't moved. They were standing guard on either side of Kabuto's interrogation table.

"First of all, you are going to tell us at what points the Suna government is infiltrated, including any members of the military that you claim as your own." Ibiki rattled that off in a droning voice.

Kabuto blinked. "I...I don't know." He pouted.

"Wrong answer," Ibiki said. He glanced at Baki. "Baki, go ahead."

"My pleasure." Baki slugged Kabuto in the jaw, although he didn't use enough force to break it. The man had to be able to speak.

Kabuto groaned. "I don't know anything, I tell you. Orochimaru-sama keeps that stuff to himself."

"I don't believe you," Ibiki said. "You're enough of a rat to know whether Orochimaru wants you to or not. So spill it."

Kabuto looked at him resentfully.

"We can always call Inoichi back to rape your mind," Baki said helpfully. "We don't have to do it the old-fashioned way."

Kabuto paled.

Tonbo laughed. "If it's mind-rape you want, Shimon can do that. We don't even have to bother Yamanaka."

Shimon inclined his head.

"Now that's convenient," Baki said.

"It's everyone," Kabuto blurted. "Everyone knew they were working with Orochimaru but Yondaime! They knew he'd never go for it! So they didn't tell him. They thought - they thought we would _convince_ him to join our side! They were idiots! Why would we waste time convincing the man if we could just impersonate him? They handed Yondaime over without a fight."

Baki nearly vomited.

Ibiki stepped back, startled, and put a hand on Baki's shoulder, squeezing hard.

Shimon and Tonbo were shocked into silence.

Baki took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. _My sensei..._ He'd been stabbed in the back, just like that.

"When Orochimaru-sama contacted them, they didn't care how they got their victory," Kabuto said. "They didn't care. We didn't have to tell them anything. All they wanted was to be the best again. During the war...during the Third Shinobi World War, Suna was the most powerful village of all the Great Shinobi Nations. Afterwards...peace suited Konoha too well. They grew. The Council was jealous. All they wanted was their old power back. They didn't even care what happened to Konoha. I offered to let the village stand under our rule, and they told us that was our business, because Konoha was our village. They didn't care."

Baki sighed. That sounded just like the Council to him: save the village at any cost. Apparently even the cost of Yondaime's life. Plus his two bodyguards, who had surely been tossed out as expendable tools.

Now that having the information yanked out of his head was on the table, Kabuto was almost hysterical. He hardly paused to take a breath. "Yondaime was different. Orochimaru-sama said...he had morals." He let out a small, unhappy laugh. "Orochimaru-sama doesn't like people with morals. Not at all. I knew something bad was going to happen from the start."

"And yet you didn't stop it because you were on the wrong team, right?" Ibiki said. He stood by Baki, still squeezing Baki's shoulder.

Baki knew Yondaime put the village first, but not to the extent of going against his own beliefs. Or, in the case of Orochimaru, his own sanity. He ended up staring sightlessly at the side of Kabuto's table. "Of course," he said.

Ibiki knew he'd need to do a lot of TLC tonight after this was over.

"So the man had solid beliefs," Baki said. "So you killed him and ripped off his face." The last part came out as a hiss.

Kabuto flinched. "Well..."

"Don't say anything," Ibiki advised. "It wasn't a question."

Baki was clenching and unclenching his fists. Ibiki's advice was wise.

"Who else?" Ibiki said.

"Well, the military is acting under the Council's orders," Kabuto said. "So the military is going to attack...the Council wants a war, after all."

Baki felt ill again. _I have to be able to stop this!_

"And when is this mythical attack set to occur?" Ibiki said.

"Two weeks from now, at the Chunin Exam," Kabuto said. "Of course. What more perfect place for Orochimaru-sama to strike?"

"So, in other words, more than six days from now," Ibiki said.

Kabuto frowned. "Yes...why?"

Ibiki stared at him. "So that we can send a message to the Council, and they can sent a message to their generals."

"Like what?" Kabuto protested.

"How about, like, 'We're totally ready for you, since we captured one of Orochimaru's cronies, and if you do this, we'll totally fucking call off the treaty and slaughter your village'?" Ibiki said. "Just a suggestion."

"Or 'We know about your alliance with Orochimaru and Sound. You've lost the element of surprise. Call it off now.'" Baki was a bit less bloody about it, given it was his village that would be slaughtered.

"Something like that," Ibiki agreed.

Kabuto looked horrified. "You can't do that."

"Why not?" Ibiki asked.

"Because it's - because it's not fair!"

"Ha!" Baki's voice was sharp. "It's not ifair/i that my sensei and kage was ruthlessly murdered. I don't give a fuck about what happens to you and your beloved master's plans."

"Now that's just selfish," Kabuto said.

"Hit him," Ibiki said.

Given that they'd all been equipped with listening devices before heading out to pick up Kabuto, the message had already been sent to the Hokage by listening operatives. That meant a message to Suna was probably being dispatched by hawk right now. As well as, probably, an ANBU team carrying the same one, to make sure it arrived.

Baki complied with great gusto, punching Kabuto right in the gut.

Kabuto made a satisfying 'fuah' noise, and would have doubled over if the restraints had let him.

He twitched, wheezing.

Baki was only mildly satisfied by this outcome.

"Go ahead and hit him again," Ibiki said. "Shimon can heal him."

Shimon saluted. "I will be happy to heal Kabuto as many times as needed."

"Now, wait a minute." Kabuto squirmed. "Isn't this police brutality?"

"We're not the police," Ibiki said impassively.

Baki went for dirty and punched him in the nuts.

Kabuto screamed and let out a sob, trying to shield himself in vain.

Ibiki smiled. "I like how you think."

Baki smiled back. "Why thank you!"

"I think it's only fair that Kabuto be your punching bag for the rest of his life," Ibiki said. He shrugged. "However you want to cash in on that is fine with me."

"Y-You can't," Kabuto choked out. Twin tears welled up and rolled down his cheeks, one on each side. "I'm important."

"Really? So am I!" Baki rubbed his fist. "Or did you think I become Yondaime's children's sensei out of good luck?" He smirked. "I'm just important enough to beat up important people, then. I think that's a fair argument."

Kabuto fell silent.

"Good. That's better than your dumb excuse." Baki delivered a stinging slap to his face. "Now I wonder how long it's going to take me feel better about the loss of my sensei and friend? Hmm..."

"Take as long as you need," Ibiki murmured. He felt a deep stirring of sympathy for Baki. He knew the grief and the anger too well.

Baki proceeded to rough Kabuto up pretty thoroughly.

Kabuto was heaving and sobbing and bleeding.

Ibiki couldn't care less.

Baki finally had his fill and stood back, wiping blood off his knuckles and onto his pant legs.

Ibiki closed the distance between them and rubbed Baki's back with one hand. "That's enough. For one day, I think. We'll be back later to give you your due. Consider this a down payment." He escorted Baki from the room, leaving Shimon and Tonbo on duty. In the hallway, where Kabuto couldn't see or hear them, Ibiki drew Baki into a hug. "I love you. It's going to be okay."

Baki slipped his arms around Ibiki's waist and leaned his head on his shoulder, sighing deeply. "I hope so. I still feel faintly nauseated."

"I know." Ibiki stroked his back gently. "You're going to feel that way for a while, perhaps. But I'm here." He realized for the first time that maybe Baki's recovery would take longer than a month. _What then? Am I going to abandon him? Of course not!_ He'd have to think of something.

He'd never expected the Council to be involved.

Perhaps that was naive of him.

Baki took a deep breath, trying to calm down his stomach, and nodded. "I know. I'm glad you are here."

Ibiki hugged him tightly at that. "We'll go home. Let's go home now. I'll take care of you."

"Yes, let's." Baki returned the squeeze, then released him. "Let's just...get out of this place."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Ibiki nodded and teleported them out, arriving with a ruffle of wind in the foyer of his apartment. "We're home," he said quietly. He took off his coat and hung it on a peg by the door. He checked the door itself. Still locked. Then he nodded to himself and slipped off his sandals. In deference to Baki, he took his bandana off and hung it by the door, too.

Baki slipped off his sandals and his veil and bandages, returning the deference. He headed straight to Ibiki's couch and collapsed there.

Ibiki paused in the kitchen only long enough to grab them both a drink. He settled on plum wine because the alcohol content was higher, and the last time Baki's stress was this high, he'd gone for something hard. So Ibiki brought in a chilled bottle of plum wine and two glasses, setting them on the kotatsu table before sitting next to Baki and slipping his arm around Baki's shoulders.

"It's okay. You can cry if you want." Ibiki gestured at the plum wine. "You can also drink, you can yell, you can ignore everything and watch tv...whatever you want. You can do it here."

Baki considered doing several of those things at once.

After a moment, he gestured to the plum wine. "I think I'll start right there."

Ibiki nodded and poured Baki a glass of plum wine, handing it over.

"Want some?" Baki asked, prepared to return the gesture.

Ibiki gave him a little nod. "Sure. Thank you."

Ibiki planned on drinking some, at least, just to keep Baki company.

Baki poured him a glass as well, handing it to him. Then he sipped on his own glass, savoring the flavor...before putting down most of the glass in one gulp. He sighed and set the glass on the table, then nestled against Ibiki, resting his head against his shoulder.

Ibiki smiled sadly and sipped his plum wine slowly. His free arm was wrapped around Baki's waist. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything that's happened. It shouldn't have happened to you."

Baki sighed again. "Thank you..." He stared at the blank tv screen, then grabbed the remote, turning it on and then muting it. He didn't care what was on; it looked like some samurai show. He just blankly let the pictures wash over him. "Yondaime didn't deserve that."

The easy platitude was: No one deserved that, but Ibiki knew some people did. If Orochimaru had his face ripped off and his carcass thrown into the desert to be eaten by hyenas, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

Depending on who did it, they'd also deserve a medal.

"No, he didn't," Ibiki said quietly. "Your sensei was a good man. He raised good children. Now you're going to do the same."

Baki nodded slowly. "Yes. I'll raise them as my own. I'll make sure they're love and safe. I won't let them down; I won't let my sensei down."

"No, you won't," Ibiki agreed. "You'd never do a thing like that. Because you're a good man."

_And if I were a good man, I'd help him_. Ibiki didn't like that thought. It spoke of unpleasant contradictions in his character.

Baki's smile was half-hearted. What mattered most in that moment was Ibiki's comfort, his presence. And maybe some more plum wine. "A second glass, please?"

Ibiki nodded. "Of course." He refilled Baki's glass. He still had half a glass, himself. He wasn't overly interested in drinking it.

Instead, he was thinking about Anko, and her crazy plans...whatever they were.

_Maybe things are different now because of the scope of the damage_. Ibiki didn't know if he was grasping at straws or what. He just knew Suna would need a lot of rebuilding if the Council was successfully indicted for treason.

Baki wasn't even letting himself think about such things. He was overwhelmed enough with his sensei's death, the impending adoption of three children, and stopping an invasion that would surely fail. He kicked back the second glass of wine more like it was a shot of sake, then thunked down the glass. "That might help." He leaned his head back on Ibiki's shoulder and pressed his forehead against his neck.

Ibiki set down his glass and wrapped both arms around Baki, holding him closely. "It might." He kissed the top of Baki's head. He sensed that their minds were on different tracks, but he didn't mind. If one of them was thinking about the future in a logistical way, it was better him anyway. "Listen," he said softly. "The invasion is as good as stopped. You did your duty. You've captured Kabuto and made him tell the truth, so that we can stop it."

It was just a matter of the timetable playing out.

Baki slipped his arms around Ibiki and nodded. "I suppose you're right. I at least should stop worrying about that."

"Yes." Ibiki squeezed him gently. "You should. And you should let me take your mind off it however you want me to."

Baki looked up, meeting Ibiki's gaze. "I want my mind completely off of it." He felt the faintest buzz from the wine. "I don't want to be able to think." He knew Ibiki would understand what he meant.

Ibiki ran a hand through Baki's hair tenderly and kissed Baki's lips, mouthing them slowly and gently.

Baki closed his eyes and let himself melt into the kiss. He mouthed Ibiki's lips in return, feeling their warmth and softness, tasting the plum wine there.

Ibiki slipped his tongue into Baki's mouth and tasted, caressing. He stroked the back of Baki's head as they kissed.

Baki moaned softly, meeting Ibiki's tongue; he reached up and cupped Ibiki's cheek. Ibiki's tongue felt heavenly in his mouth, caressing and exploring.

Ibiki moaned in return, humming in the back of his throat at how Baki responded with the same tenderness given. He wrapped his free arm around Baki more tightly. The hand stroking Baki's hair shifted to run fingers down the back of Baki's neck, trailing fingertips over Baki's warm skin lightly.

Baki shivered faintly, his neck feeling sensitive to the touch. He moaned again and teased Ibiki's tongue, pulling it over into his mouth so he could suck on it. He cupped the back of Ibiki's neck as well, caressing.

Ibiki moaned, and his brow furrowed at the stirring of arousal that shot through him. He panted against Baki's warm, soft lips. He didn't give up stroking Baki's neck, but he did yank his gloves off so that he could touch Baki with his bare hands. He tossed the gloves onto the kotatsu table without dislodging Baki, doing the whole thing behind Baki's back.

Then he caressed the back of Baki's neck, feeling the heat of Baki's skin against his own.

Capturing Ibiki's lips again, Baki moaned into his mouth, his neck tingling from the touches. He feathered his fingertips down Ibiki's neck, wondering if he could return the favor. "Ibiki..." he gasped, then slipped his tongue into Ibiki's mouth.

At that, Ibiki moaned deeply, and felt himself leaking against the front of his boxers. He caressed Baki's tongue with gentle desperation and then sucked on it, teasing it with the tip of his tongue. He wanted to give Baki the same kind of pleasure Baki had given him. His hands ended up stroking Baki's sides.

"Mm." Baki met those caresses, shivering at the teasing, and then decided the couch wasn't good enough. "Bedroom?" he asked, breaking the kiss.

"Yes," Ibiki said. He nodded, breathing heavily. He helped Baki up, rising himself, and walked them to the bedroom with his arm around Baki's waist.

Then, realizing he was covered in sweat and probably Baki was too from the stress of the evening, he pulled Baki towards the door to the master bathroom. "Or shower. Better yet. How about that?"

"Sounds perfect." Baki had been bloody earlier, after all, and his clothes were a mess.

Ibiki pulled Baki into the bathroom with him and proceeded to help pull off Baki's clothes, tossing them in the direction of the hamper.

Baki returned the favor, stripping Ibiki and running his hands over his bare torso as he did.

Ibiki moaned and let out a whimper, shivering. He stepped further into the bathroom and turned on the shower, testing the water with a few flicks of his hand before deciding a medium-warm was good. He helped Baki into the shower stall with him, closed the curtain, and redirected the water to come out of the showerhead by pulling the lever on the tap.

With a hissing sound, water sprayed down on them from above. When Ibiki decided he'd be living here for a while, he modified the showerhead so that it was higher up than most people's. He was tall and needed the adjustment.

Baki sighed as the water hit them. "Feels good." He ran his arms around Ibiki and caressed his back. "Feels even better." He grinned.

"Mmm." Ibiki shifted against him. "I agree." Ibiki took down the soap from the shelf, lathered up the clean washcloth hanging on a rung, and ran it over Baki's neck, washing and caressing at the same time.

Baki sighed in pleasure, leaning his head on Ibiki's shoulder again and soaking up the feeling of the caresses. He ran his hand up and down Ibiki's spine at the same time.

Ibiki shivered. His lips parted in a moan, rising up from deep in his chest. He kept up the caresses with the washcloth far longer than were needed to wash Baki's neck. He stroked the soft, soapy cloth down the back of Baki's neck, and across Baki's powerful shoulders.

Baki shivered at the caress to his neck, then shifted his face, nuzzling Ibiki's neck. It was warm and wet from the shower. He smiled to himself and kissed up Ibiki's neck to the spot right under his ear; he licked the spot, lapping over it slowly.

Ibiki cried out and shivered, momentarily freezing in place at the hot pulses of arousal. He felt himself grow fully hard, leaking beads of moisture lost in the spray of the shower. "Love you..." He whimpered and stroked Baki's back with the washcloth, running it over everything he could reach. He worked his way lower slowly.

Baki welcomed the touches, pressing into them as Ibiki slid lower. "Love you..." He kissed Ibiki's neck, teasing the spot gently, then gave it another long lick.

"Ah..." Ibiki closed his eyes and rubbed the washcloth over Baki's buttocks, caressing the sculpted curves. Then he had to re-wet his washcloth finally. He stroked all the way down Baki's spine, and resumed caressing Baki's bottom.

Baki pressed into the touch. "That's right," he whispered into Ibiki's ear. "I want to feel you down there. Press in; tease me. I want you to." He was fully hard now, and just saying the words made him leak. He sucked on Ibiki's neck, right on the spot under his ear, and moaned.

Ibiki felt his erection throb, and his breath hitched. He moaned, shivering. "Hai." He was glad for instructions. He wouldn't have known how far to go without Baki's express approval. He soaped up his hands and set the washcloth aside. He caressed Baki's buttocks with both hands for a moment, then slipped one hand down the cleft of Baki's bottom, pressing in lightly and rubbing slick fingers against Baki's entrance.

Baki moaned, a sharp spike of arousal shooting through him. "Ibiki..." He pressed into the touch again, shivering; his nipples hardened. "Oh, yes...that feels good. Very good." He was leaking. He lapped Ibiki's neck, sucking there again.

Ibiki moaned and squeezed his eyes shut tightly, his world narrowing to the sensation of Baki against him, his fingers stroking against Baki's heated, sensitive kin, Baki quivering. Ibiki circled Baki's entrance with his fingertips, and eventually used only his middle finger to stroke over it back and forth.

Baki shivered, his body aching with the need for penetration. "Would you like to feel it too?" he whispered into Ibiki's ear. "Would you like me to touch you the same way at the same time?"

Warmth shot through Ibiki, fluttering. "Um...okay," he whispered in return. "Let's do that." His erection ached and throbbed with arousal.

Baki reached up and got the soap, sudsing up his hands. Then he shifted them sideways in the shower so the soap wouldn't be washed away and massaged Ibiki's bottom with both hands, just as Ibiki had done for him. Slowly, he parted Ibiki and then traced one finger down to his entrance, circling it gently, teasing it. It quivered and contracted at the touch.

Ibiki twitched and shivered against Baki. His face and his erection instantly burned with heat. "O-Oh..." He gasped. "I think...that feels good..." His legs were shaking. He didn't know how long he could remain standing, or Baki either, but he wanted to try to reach their limits. "Baki...do you want me to...put it in?" He stroked Baki's entrance with his finger questioningly.

Baki shivered as well. "Oh, yes...I want to feel you inside me." He caressed Ibiki's entrance again, circling it, teasing it.

Ibiki moaned. "Okay." His chest was heaving. "I'll just...go first, and then...you can do that too." He gently pressed in, and felt his finger slide into Baki's slick heat. He thought he got maybe halfway in when Baki's body tightened around his finger. He moaned at the feeling of it; tight muscles massaging his finger. "You feel good...Baki-chan. Oh, god. That feels good, too." He needed all his willpower not to squirm with what Baki was doing.

Baki gasped at the penetration, then moaned deeply. "Oh, god, yes." It was all he could do not to press back onto Ibiki's finger, but his body wasn't ready yet. He panted against Ibiki's shoulder for a moment, then returned the favor, gently pressing in. He could feel immense heat and pressure surrounding his finger; he slipped in up to the second knuckle. Then Ibiki's body clamped down, stopping him. He dropped a kiss to Ibiki's neck.

Ibiki cried out, squeezing his eyes shut, and felt himself clamp down on Baki's finger hard. Heat rippled through him, burning. "Oh...Is that what that feels like?" His voice sounded faraway in his ears. "That's good." It felt like desperately needed pressure. The pleasure was so intense he was glad Baki wasn't moving. "I...ah..." He moaned deeply.

Baki stood in Ibiki's arms, thinking this was one of the hottest things he'd ever done with a boyfriend. "It's sexy, you know," he whispered, "for us to finger each other simultaneously." He felt his own body relax and moaned softly. "Oh, Ibiki...I need you deeper."

Ibiki nodded, moaning at Baki's whisper, and slid his finger in the rest of the way. His legs shook. "Like this?" He'd definitely never done anything of the sort before. Nothing even came close. He'd never imagined anything like this, either. His whole finger being encased in heat was a new feeling. "I can feel you. From the inside. And it feels warm. You feel so warm..."

He felt his body ripple and relax around Baki's finger, spreading warmth in tingling waves. It felt almost like fingers running down the inside of his legs.

Ibiki let his head fall back and moaned. "Ah. I'm ready, too. Please...more." He bit his lip and whimpered, leaking helplessly.

Baki leaked just as helplessly, moaning at Ibiki's plea. "Hai." He had felt Ibiki's body relax, so he pushed in slowly, Ibiki's body taking his entire finger and then clamping down again. "Oh, Ibiki..." He waited until Ibiki's body relaxed. "Okay," he whispered, his body relaxing as well. "It's time." He pumped his finger slowly in and out of Ibiki. "Take me, too," he whispered.

Ibiki let out a plaintive moan and pressed back against Baki's finger, unable to help himself. At the same time, he stroked his finger in and out of Baki's slick heat, feeling Baki's muscles ripple around his finger gently, caressing. Imagining how that would feel if his erection were inside Baki instead made this experience even more arousing.

Baki pressed back against Ibiki's finger as well, moaning deeply. "Ibiki!" he gasped. "Oh, yes...Good. It's good." As they moved, their erections brushed together, and Baki whimpered, his erection burning and tingling from the touch.

Ibiki let out a sob and shifted against Baki again, burning hot and tingling with arousal, unable to stop himself from moving with it. "I love you...I love you..." Feeling Baki press back on his finger was incredible. He felt a deep sense of tenderness and responsibility. "I love you...so much." He couldn't give this up. He was a fool to try. And worst, he would be letting Baki down if he did.

Baki needed him. He couldn't be any more 'pragmatic' than that.

"I'm staying. Somehow, we'll make this work. I'll make it work. For once...I'm going to put something before my work. I'm going to put you..." He whimpered, unable to finish his sentence for a few moments. He choked back a sob at the pleasure. "...first." He penetrated Baki slowly and deeply, rubbing the inside of Baki's body with his fingertip.

Baki gasped at this. "Oh, god, Ibiki...I love you, too. And I need you..." That reassurance was one he'd been secretly desperate for. He shifted his finger until he found the swollen spot inside of Ibiki, then he caressed it gently with his fingertip.

Ibiki yelled. He sobbed unabashedly, shifting against Baki's finger. "Baki...Baki...Baki...what..."

He felt as though he was going to come at any moment. Hot, liquid surges of pleasure stole his ability to think.

Baki let off the pressure, letting Ibiki breathe and collect himself. "Inside us...our prostate. When it's swollen with our pleasure, it feels good to be touched." He smiled at Ibiki. "Find mine in me...about two-three inches in...and we'll come together." He paused in his thrusting so Ibiki could concentrate.

Ibiki shakily searched for it and found it, barely daring to brush his finger across it. His head spun. "Like this?"

He'd known about it in the abstract. He'd never been able to imagine what it felt like.

Baki cried out, sharp pangs of pleasure shooting down his legs. He leaned into Ibiki, stabilizing his balance and pinning Ibiki to the tile wall at the same time. "Hai, hai." He gasped for breath. "Now take me, just take me." He began thrusting his finger over Ibiki's again, feeling its immense heat.

Ibiki cried out, sobbing, and squirmed against the tile shower surround, working his finger against Baki's swollen prostate gently, desperately trying to impart some of the enormous pleasure he felt, transfer it back into Baki's body.

Baki feel into helpless moans, crying out. His legs shook with the pleasure, but he wanted it and needed it too much to give in. "Ibiki!" he cried out, whimpering. "Ibiki!" His world narrowed in, all other sensations flying away, and he knew he was close. "Oh, god, yes..." He gasped, his prostate burning with the pleasure, and felt his body contract. He came, his hips jerking.

Ibiki was stunned at the feeling of Baki's hips jerking. His own hips shifted, rubbing his erection against Baki's in the process. The feeling of hot liquid between them was too much, Baki's arousal was too much, and he came, sobbing, actually crying a little. He whimpered and moaned, still unbearably aroused by the feeling of Baki's finger inside of him. He squirmed, withdrawing his own finger gently and letting out a sigh of relief when Baki's finger slipped out as well. He finally came down, sinking into warm, deeply peaceful pleasure.

Baki was still leaning against him, feeling peaceful and almost sleepy as well. He rinsed off his hands, then wrapped his arms around Ibiki's waist, holding him. "Our water is almost cold," he murmured, amused.

"Mm." Ibiki didn't care, but he knew he would when the water got cold. He hated cold water. He washed off his hands, pulled Baki under the spray, and started determinedly washing Baki's hair, even though he could barely stand, and his hands were warm and tingly. He massaged Baki's scalp. "Then we're abandoning ship," he mumbled.

He kissed Baki's cheek, then gently rinsed out the shampoo. He stroked his fingers along Baki's jaw. "I love you. We're going to snuggle in bed. It's our bed. Wherever we are. It's always going to be 'our' bed."

He could tell his thoughts were still a little disconnected.

"Hai." Baki could agree to that easily. He helped Ibiki wash and rinse his hair, then they shut off the water before it got too cool. Carefully, they stepped out of the shower, then they helped each other dry off. Still naked, they relocated to the bed, climbing under the covers together.

Ibiki lay on his back and gathered Baki to his chest, stroking Baki's back. "I'm not going to be leaving you. Ever. I'm not doing that. I've decided."

The moment he saw the look on Baki's face in the interrogation room when Kabuto said the Council was involved, he knew that leaving Baki after giving him everything would be the worst torture he could possibly inflict.

"Oh thank God," Baki said, relaxing against Ibiki's chest. He slipped one hand under his waist and another under his shoulder blade, holding him in return.

Ibiki stroked Baki's damp hair. "That's right. You don't have to worry about that now. Anko doesn't have to convince me. Neither do you. I figured it out all by myself. I'm not going to torture you that way. I love you. I need to take care of you." He kissed Baki's ear tenderly. "You're mine, and I need to take care of you."

No one could have convinced him of this; he knew Anko would have tried. If he didn't understand it on his own, he was never going to. Being burned once by what happened to his brother didn't count as a great enough trauma to take it out on Baki. He knew he had a lack of commitment to things outside of work. A lack of commitment to anyone but himself, really. It had made him lonely, but it had also kept him safe from the only thing he was truly afraid of: failing people.

But he couldn't let that fear ruin Baki. That made all the difference. Knowing that was the only real reason he'd wanted to hold back meant that he couldn't; he didn't have a valid excuse for breaking the man's heart. He was better than that.

Loving someone meant setting the fear aside; at least enough to act.

Baki dropped a kiss to Ibiki's chest. "Thank you." It was all he could think of to say. "I wanted you to stay and help me, but I would've never asked or tried to force you to. It needed to be your decision on your own." He closed his eyes, feeling a deep peace. "I love you, too."

Ibiki felt tears in his eyes, hearing how much Baki had wanted to reach out to him but had been unable to. "I'm sorry for putting you through that. I was temporarily blind. I'm just glad I won't put you through anything worse. I'm with you now."

"I know," Baki whispered. "I'm glad." He paused. "Besides, it's your life. You have to be comfortable with your decision. I would only want what was best for you, too."

Ibiki let the tears in his eyes fall. "What's best for me is to be with you." He kissed the top of Baki's head and held Baki closely.

Baki reached up and brushed the tears away. "Then that is where you'll be, love."

Ibiki took a deep breath and nodded.


End file.
